
/ 



LIVES 



SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



BY 

WASHINGTON IRVING. 



LONDON : 

HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 

1850. 




C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND. 



/ 



If 

PREFACE. 



It is the intention of the author, in the following pages, to trace 
the progress of the Moslem dominion from the death of Mahomet, 
a.d. 622, to the invasion of Spain, a.d. 710. In this period, of less 
than fourscore and ten years, which passed within the lifetime of 
many an aged Arab, the Moslems extended their empire and their 
faith over the wide regions of Asia and Africa, subverting the em- 
pire of the Khosrus ; subjugating great territories in India ; esta- 
blishing a splendid seat of power in Syria ; dictating to the con- 
quered kLigdom of the Pharaohs ; overrunning the whole northern 
coast of Africa ; scouring the Mediterranean with their ships ; 
carrying their conquests in one direction to the very walls of 
Constantinople, and in another to the extreme limits of Mau- 
ritania ; in a word, trampling down all the old dynasties which 
once held haughty and magnificent sway in the East. The whole 
presents a striking instance of the triumph of fanatic enthusiasm 
over disciplined valour, at a period when the invention of fire-arms 
had not reduced war to a matter of almost arithmetical calculation. 
There is also an air of wild romance about many of the events re- 
corded in this narrative, owing to the character of the Arabs, and 
their fondness for stratagems, daring exploits, and individual 
achievements of an extravagant nature. These have sometimes 
been softened, if not suppressed, by cautious historians ; but the 
author has found them so in unison with the people and the times, 
and with a career of conquest, in itself out of the bounds of com- 
mon probability, that he has been induced to leave them in all 
their graphic force. 

Those who have read the life of Mahomet will find in the follow- 
ing pages most of their old acquaintances again engaged, but in a 
vastly grander field of action ; leading armies, subjugating empires, 
and dictating from the palaces and thrones of deposed potentates. 

In constructing his work, which is intended merely for popular 
use, the author has adopted a form somewhat between biography 
and chronicle, admitting of personal anecdote, and a greater play of 



IV 



PREFACE. 



familiar traits and peculiarities, than is considered admissible in the 
stately walk of history. His ignorance of the Oriental languages 
has obliged him to take his materials at second-hand, where he 
could have wished to read them in the original ; such, for instance, 
has been the case with the accounts given by the Arabian writer, 
Al Wakidi, of the conquest of Syria, and especially of the siege of 
Damascus, which retain much of their dramatic spirit even in the 
homely pages of Ockley. To this latter writer, the author has been 
much indebted, as well as to the Abbe de Marigny's History of the 
Arabians, and to D'Herbelot's Bibliotheque Orientale. In fact, his 
pages are often a mere digest of facts already before the public, but 
divested of cumbrous diction and uninteresting details. Some, how- 
ever, are furnished from sources recently laid open, and not hitherto 
wrought into the regular web of history. 

In his account of the Persian conquest, the author has been much 
benefited by the perusal of the Gerualdesaal of the learned Yon 
Hammer-Purgstall, and by a translation of the Persian historian 
Tabari, recently given to the public in the Journal of the American 
Oriental Society, by Mr. John P. Brown, dragoman of the United 
States Legation at Constantinople. 

In the account of the Moslem conquests along the northern 
coast of Africa, of which so little is known, he has gleaned many of 
his facts from Conde's Domination of the Arabs in Spain ; and from 
the valuable work on the same subject, recently put forth under the 
sanction of the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and 
Ireland, by his estimable friend, Don Pascual de Gayangos, formerly 
Professor of Arabic in the Athenaeum of Madrid. 

The author might cite other sources whence he has derived 
scattered facts; but it appears to him that he has already said 
enough on this point, about a work written more from inclination 
than ambition ; and which, as before intimated, does not aspire to 
be consulted as authority, but merely to be read as a digest of 
current knowledge, adapted to popular use. 



SU>->"FSIDE, 1850. 



CONTEXTS. 



CHAPTER L page 
Election of Abu Beker, first Caliph, Hegira I lth, a.d. 632 . 1 
CHAPTER IL 

Moderation of Abu Beker — Traits of his character — Rebellion 
of Arab tribes — Defeat and death of Malec Ibn Nowirah — 
Harsh measures of Khaled condemned by Omar, but excused 
by Abu Beker — Khaled defeats Moseilma, the false prophet — 

Compilation of the Koran 4 

CHAPTER III. 

Campaign against Syria — Army sent under Yezed Ibn Abu So- 
fian — Its successes — Another army under Amru Ibn al Aass 
— Brilliant achievements of Khaled in Irak .... 9 
CHAPTER IV. 

Incompetency of Abu Obeidah for the general command in Syria 
— Khaled sent to supersede him — Peril of the Moslem army 
before Bosra — Timely arrival of Khaled — His exploits during 

the siege— Capture of Bosra 14 

CHAPTER V. 

Khaled lays siege to Damascus 19 

CHAPTER YI. 
Siege of Damascus continued— Exploits of Derar— Defeat of the 
imperial army 23 

CHAPTER VII. 
Siege of Damascus continued — Sally of the garrison — Heroism 

of the Moslem women 2.5 

CHAPTER VHI. 

Battle of Aiznadin 23 

CHAPTER IX. 
Occurrences before Damascus — Exploits of Thomas — Aban Ibn 

Zeid and his Amazonian wife 3 1 

CHAPTER X. 

Surrender of Damascus — Disputes of the Saracen generals — De- 
parture of Thomas and the exiles 39 

CHAPTER XI. 
Story of Jonas and Eudocea— Pursuit of the exiles — Death of the 

Caliph Abu Beker 42 

CHAPTER XII. 
Election of Omar, second Caliph — Khaled superseded in the com- 
mand by Abu Obeidah — Magnanimous conduct of those gene- 

Tals — Expedition to the convent of Abyla 50 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Moderate measures of Abu Obeidah — Reproved by the Caliph 
for his slowness . . 53 



vi 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XIV. page 
The siege and capture of Baalbec 61 

CHAPTER XV. 
Siege of Emessa — Stratagems of the Moslems — Fanatic devotion 
of Ikremah — Surrender of the city . . . . . .65 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Advance of a powerful Imperial army — Skirmishes of Khaled — 
Capture of Derar — Interview of Khaled and Manuel . . 69 
CHAPTER XVII. 

The battle of Yermouk 73 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The siege and capture of Jerusalem 75 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Progress of the Moslem arms in Syria — Siege of Aleppo — Obsti- 
nate defence by Youkenna— Exploit of Damas— Capture of the 
castle — Conversion of Youkenna 81 

CHAPTER XX. 
Perfidy of Youkenna to his former friends — Attempts the castle 
of Aazaz by treachery — Capture of the castle .... 88 
CHAPTER XXI. 
Intrigues of Youkenna at Antioch — Siege of that city by the Mos- 
lems — Elight of the emperor to Constantinople — Surrender of 

Antioch . ■ .« 91 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Expedition into the mountains of Syria — Story of a miraculous cap 9 6 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Expedition of Amru Ibn al Aass against Prince Constantine in 
Syria — Their conference— Capture of Tripoli and Tyre — Elight 
of Constantine — Death of Khaled . . . . . . 99 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Invasion of Egypt by Amru — Capture of Memphis — Siege and 
surrender of Alexandria — Burning of the Alexandrian library 107 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Enterprises of the Moslems in Persia — Defence of the Kingdom 
by Queen Arzemia — Battle of the Bridge . . . .115 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Mosenna Ibn Haris ravages the country along the Euphrates — 
Death of Arzemia — Yezdegird III. raised to the throne — Saad 
Ibn Abu Wakkas given the general command — Death of Mo- 
senna — Embassy to Yezdegird — Its reception . , . 118 

CHAPTER XXVH. 

The battle of Kadesia ; 123 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Founding of Bassora — Capture of the Persian capital— Flight of 

Yezdegird to Holwan 126 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Capture of Jalula— Flight of Yezdegird to Rei — Founding of Cufa 
— Saad severely rebuked by the Caliph for his magnificence . 130 



CONTENTS. 



Vll 



CHAPTER XXX. page 
War with Hormuzan, the Satrap of Ahwaz— His subjugation and 
conversion 133 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
Saacl suspended from the command — A Persian army assembled at 
Nehavend — Council at the mosque of Medina — Battle of Nehavend 1 63 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
Capture of Hamadan; of Rei— Subjugation of Tabaristan; of 
Azerbijan — Campaign among the Caucasian mountains . .140 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 
The Caliph Omar is assassinated by a fire-worshipper — His cha- 
racter — Othman elected Caliph 145 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 
Conclusion of the Persian conquest — Flight and death of Yesdegird 1 50 

CHAPTER XXXY. 
Amru displaced from the government of Egypt — Revolt of the 
inhabitants — Alexandria taken again by the imperialists — 
Amru reinstated in command — Retakes Alexandria, and tran- 
quillises Egypt — Is again displaced — Abdallah Ibn Saad invades 
the north of Africa .153 

CHAPTER XXXYI. 
Moawyah, Emir of Syria — His naval victories — Othman loses the 
prophet's ring — Suppresses erroneous copies of the Koran — 
Conspiracies against him — His death . . . . .158 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 
Candidates for the Caliphat — Inauguration of Ali, fourth Caliph 
— He undertakes measures of reform — Their consequences — 
Conspiracy of Ayesha — She gets possession of Bassora . . 165 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
Ali defeats the rebels under Ayesha — His treatment of her . .173 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 
Battles between Ali and Moawyah — Their claims to the Caliphat 
left to arbitration; the result — Decline of the power of Ali — 

Loss of Egypt . 180 

CHAPTER XL. 

Preparations of Ali for the invasion of Syria — His assassination . 185 

CHAPTER XLI. 
Succession of Hassan, fifth Caliph — abdicates in favour of Moawyah 188 

CHAPTER XLII. 
Reign of Moawyah I., sixth Caliph — Account of his illegitimate 
brother Zeyad— Death of Amru 190 

CHAPTER XLin. 
Siege of Constantinople — Truce with the emperor — Murder of 
• Hassan — Death of Ayesha 195 

CHAPTER XLIV. 
Conquests of the Moslem in Northern Africa — Achievements of 
Acbah ; his death 198 



Vlll 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XLY. 
Moawyah names his successor— His last acts and death — Traits 



of his character 202 

CHAPTER XLYI. 
Succession of Yezid, seventh Caliph — Final fortunes of Hosein, 

the son of Ali . . 205 

CHAPTER XX, YH 
Insurrection of Abdallah Ibn Zobeir — Medina taken and sacked — 
Mecca besieged — Death of Yezid 215 

CHAPTER XLVHL 
Inauguration of Moawyah EL, eighth Caliph — His abdication and 
death — Merwan Ibn Hakem and Abdallah Ibn Zobeir, rival 
Caliphs — Civil wars in Syria 218 



CHAPTER XLIX. 
State of affairs in Khorassan — Conspiracy at Cafa — Paction of 
the Penitents : their fortunes — Death of the Caliph Merwan . 222 
CHAPTER L. 

Inauguration of Abd'almalec, the eleventh Caliph — Story of Al 

Moktar the Avenger 224 

CHAPTER LI. 

Musab Ibn Zobeir takes possession of Babylonia — Usurpation of 



Amru Ibn Saad ; his death — Expedition of Abd'almalec against 
Musab — The result — Omens ; their effect upon Abd'almalec — 

Exploits of Al Mohalleb 231 

CHAPTER LIL 
Abd'almalec makes war upon his rival Caliph in Mecca — Siege of 
the Sacred City — Death of Abdallah— Demolition and recon- 
struction of the Caaba 236 

CHAPTER LIII. 
Administration of Al Hejagi as emir of Babylonia . • . 2-il 



CHAPTER LIY. 
Renunciation of tribute to the emperor — Battles in Northern 
Africa —The Prophet Queen Cahina ; her achievements and fate 248 
CHAPTER LY. 
Musa Ibn Nosseyr made emir of Northern Africa — His cam- 
paigns against the Berbers 252 

CHAPTER LYI. 
Naval enterprises of Musa — Cruisings of his son Abdolola — 

Death of Abd'almalec 257 

CHAPTER LVH. 
Inauguration of Waled, twelfth Caliph —Revival of the arts un- 
der his reign — His taste for architecture — Erection of mosques 

— Conquests of his generals 260 

CHAPTER LVIII. 
Further triumphs of Musa Ibn Nosseyr — Naval enterprises — 
Descents in Sicily, Sardinia, and Mallorca — Invasion of Tingi- 
tania — Projects for the invasion of Spain — Conclusion . .265 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



CHAPTER I. 
The death of Mahomet left his religion without a head and his 
people without a sovereign ; there was danger, therefore, of the 
newly formed empire falling into confusion. All Medina, on 
the day of his death, was in a kind of tumult, and nothing but 
the precaution of Osama Ibn Zeid in planting the standard 
before the prophet's door, and posting troops in various parts, 
prevented popular commotions. The question was, on whom 
to devolve the reins of government? Four names stood pro- 
minent as having claims of affinity: AbuBeker, Omar, Othman, 
and Ali. Abu Beker was the father of Ayesha, the favourite 
wife of Mahomet. Omar was father of Hafsa, another of his 
wives, and the one to whose care he had confided the coffer con- 
taining the revelations of the Koran. Othman had married 
successively two of his daughters, but they were dead, and also 
their progeny. Ali was cousin-german of Mahomet and hus- 
band of Fatima, his only daughter. Such were the ties of 
relationship to him of these four great captains. The right of 
succession, in order of consanguinity, lay with Ali ; and his 
virtues and services eminently entitled him to it. On the first 
burst of his generous zeal, when Islamism was a derided and 
persecuted faith, he had been pronounced by Mahomet his 
brother, his vicegerent ; he had ever since been devoted to him 
in word and deed, and had honoured the cause by his magnani- 
mity as ' signally as he had vindicated it by his valour. His 
friends, confiding in the justice of his claims, gathered round 
him in the dwelling of Fatima his wife, to consult about means 
of putting him quietly in possession of the government. 

Other interests, however, were at work, operating upon the 
public mind. Abu Beker was held up, not merely as con- 
nected by marriage ties with the prophet, but as one of the first 
and most zealous of his disciples; as the voucher for the truth 
of his night journey; as his fellow-sufferer in persecution; as 
the one who accompanied him in his flight from Mecca ; as his 
companion in the cave when they were miraculously saved from 
discovery; as his counsellor and co-operator in all his plans 
and undertakings; as the one in fact whom the prophet had 
plainly pointed out as his successor, by deputing him to officiate 
in his stead in the religious ceremonies during his last illness. 

B 



2 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



His claims were strongly urged by his daughter Ayesha, who 
had great influence among the faithful ; and who was stimu- 
lated not so much by zeal for her father, as by hatred of AH, 
whom she had never forgiven for having inclined his ear to the 
charge of incontinence against her in the celebrated case en- 
titled The False Accusation. 

Omar also had a powerful party among the populace, who 
admired him for his lion-like demeanour ; his consummate mili- 
tary skill ; his straightforward simplicity and dauntless courage. 
He also had an active female partisan in his daughter Hafsa. 

While therefore Ali and his friends were in quiet counsel in 
the house of Fatima, many of the principal Moslems gathered 
together without their knowledge, to settle the question of 
succession. The two most important personages in this assem- 
blage were Abu Beker and Omar. The first measure was to 
declare the supreme power not hereditary but elective ; a mea- 
sure which at once destroyed the claims of Ali on the score of 
consanguinity, and left the matter open to the public choice. 
This has been ascribed to the jealousy of the Koreishites of the 
line of Abd Schems; who feared, should Ali's claims be re- 
cognised, that the sovereign power, like the guardianship of the 
Caaba, might be perpetuated in the haughty line of Haschem. 
Some, however, pretend to detect in it the subtle and hostile 
influence of Ayesha. 

A dispute now arose between the Mohadjerins or refugees 
from Mecca and the Ansarians or Helpers of Medina, as to the 
claims of their respective cities to nominate a successor to 
Mahomet. The former founded the claims of Mecca on its 
being the birthplace of the prophet, and the first in which his 
doctrines had been divulged; they set forward their own claims 
also as his townsmen, his relatives, and the companions of his 
exile. The Ansarians, on the other hand, insisted on the supe- 
rior claims of Medina, as having been the asylum of the pro- 
phet and his chosen residence ; and on their own claims as having 
supported him in his exile, and enabled him to withstand and 
overcome his persecutors. 

The dispute soon grew furious, and scimetars flashed from 
their scabbards, when one of the people of Medina proposed as 
a compromise, that each party should furnish a ruler and the 
government have two heads. Omar derided the proposition 
with scorn. " Two blades," said he, " cannot go into one 
sheath." Abu Beker also remonstrated against a measure cal- 



ABU BEKER. 



3 



dilated to weaken the empire in its very infancy. He conjured 
the Moslems to remain under one head, and named Omar and 
Abu Obeidah as persons worthy of the office, and between whom 
they should choose. Abu Obeidah was one of the earliest dis- 
ciples of Mahomet; he had accompanied him in his flight from 
Mecca, and adhered to him in all his fortunes. 

The counsel of Abu Beker calmed for a time the turbulence 
of the assembly, but it soon revived with redoubled violence. 
Upon this Omar suddenly rose, advanced to Abu Beker and 
hailed him as the oldest, best, and most thoroughly tried of the 
adherents of the prophet, and the one most worthy to succeed 
him. So saying, he kissed his hand in token of allegiance, and 
swore to obey him as his sovereign. 

This sacrifice of his own claims in favour of a rival struck the 
assembly with surprise, and opened their eyes to the real 
merits of Abu Beker. They beheld in him the faithful com- 
panion of the prophet, who had always been by his side. They 
knew his wisdom and moderation, and venerated his grey hairs. 
It appeared but reasonable that the man whose counsels had 
contributed to establish the government, should be chosen to 
carry it on. The example of Omar, therefore, was promptly- 
followed, and Abu Beker was hailed as chief. 

Omar now ascended the pulpit. " Henceforth/' said he, "if any 
one shall presume to take upon himself the sovereign power with- 
out the public voice, let him suffer death ; as well as all who may 
nominate or uphold him." This measure was instancy adopted, 
and thus a bar was put to the attempts of any other candidate. 

The whole policy of Omar in these measures, which at first 
sight appears magnanimous, has been cavilled at as crafty and 
selfish. Abu Beker, it is observed, was well-stricken in years, 
being about the same age with the prophet; it was not pro- 
bable he would long survive. Omar trusted, therefore, to succeed 
in a little while to the command. His last measure struck at 
once at the hopes of Ali, his most formidable competitor ; who, 
shut up with his friends in the dwelling of Fatima, knew nothing 
of the meeting in which his pretensions were thus demolished. 
Craft, however, we must observe, was not one of Omar's 
characteristics, and was totally opposed to the prompt, stern, 
and simple course of his conduct on all occasions; nor did he 
ever show any craving lust for power. He seems ever to have 
been a zealot in the cause of Islam, and to have taken no indi- 
rect measures to promote it. 

b2 



4 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOilET. 



His next movement was indicative of his straightforward 
cut-and-thrust policy. Abu Beker, wary and managing, feared 
there might be some outbreak on the part of Ali and his friends 
when they should hear of the election which had taken place. 
He requested Omar, therefore, to proceed with an armed band 
to the mansion of Fatima, and maintain tranquillity in that 
quarter. Omar surrounded the house with his followers ; an- 
nounced to Ali the election of Abu Beker, and demanded his 
concurrence. Ali attempted to remonstrate, alleging his own 
claims ; but Omar proclaimed the penalty of death, decreed to 
all who should attempt to usurp the sovereign power in defiance 
of public will: and threatened to enforce it by setting fire to the 
house and consuming its inmates. 

"Oh son of Khattab!" cried Fatima, reproachfully, "thou 
wilt not surely commit such an outrage!" 

" Ay will I in very truth!" replied Omar, "unless ye all 
make common cause with the people. 

The friends of Ali were fain to yield, and to acknowledge the 
sovereignty of Abu Beker. Ali, however, held himself apart in 
proud and indignant reserve until the death of Fatima, which 
happened in the course of several months. He then paid tardy 
homage to Abu Beker, but, in so doing, upbraided him with 
want of openness and good faith in managing the election with- 
out his privity ; a reproach which the reader will probably think 
not altogether unmerited. Abu Beker, however, disavowed all 
intrigue, and declared he had accepted the sovereignty merely 
to allay the popular commotion; and was ready to lay it down 
wdienever a more worthy candidate could be found who would 
unite the wishes of the people. 

Ali was seemingly pacified by this explanation; but he 
spurned it in his heart, and retired in disgust into the interior 
of Arabia, taking with him his two sons, Hassan and Hosein; 
the only descendants of the prophet. From these have sprung 
a numerous progeny, who to this day are considered noble, and 
wear green turbans as the outward sign of their illustrious 
in e age. 

CHAPTER EL 
On assuming the supreme authority, Abu Beker refused to 
take the title of king or prince; several of the Moslems hailed 
him as God's vicar on earth, but he rejected the appellation ; he 
was not the vicar of God, he said, but of his prophet, whose 
plans and wishes it was his duty to carry out and fulfil. " In 



ABU BEKER. 



5 



so doing," added he, "I will endeavour to avoid all prejudice 
and partiality. Obey me only so far as I obey God and the 
prophet. If I go beyond these bounds, I have no authority 
over youo If I err, set me right; I shall be open to conviction." 

He contented himself, therefore, with the modest title of 
Caliph, that is to say, successor, by which the Arab sovereigns 
have ever since been designated. They have not all, however, 
imitated the modesty of Abu Beker, in calling themselves suc- 
cessors of the prophet; but many, in after times, arrogated to 
themselves the title of Caliphs and Vicars of God, and his 
Shadow upon Earth. The supreme authority, as when exer- 
cised by Mahomet, united the civil and religious functions : the 
Caliph was sovereign and pontiff. 

It may be well to observe that the original name of the 
newly-elected Caliph was Abdallah Athek Ibn Abu Kahafa. 
He was, also, as we have shown, termed Al Seddek, or The 
Testifier to the Truth, from having maintained the verity of 
Mahomet's nocturnal journey ; but he is always named, in Mos- 
lem histories, Abu Beker — that is to say, The Father of the 
Virgin, his daughter Ayesha being the only one of the prophet's 
wives that came a virgin to his arms, the others having pre- 
viously been in wedlock. 

At the time of his election, Abu Beker was about sixty-two 
years of age, tall, and well formed, though spare, with a florid 
complexion and thin beard, which would have been grey, but 
that he tinged it after the Oriental usage. He was a man of 
great judgment and discretion, whose wariness and manage- 
ment at times almost amounted to craft ; yet his purposes 
appear to have been honest and unselfish, directed to the good 
of the cause, not to his own benefit. In the administration of 
his office he betrayed nothing of sordid worldliness. Indifferent 
to riches, and to all pomps, luxuries, and sensual indulgences, 
he accepted no pay for his services but a mere pittance, sufficient 
to maintain an Arab establishment of the simplest kind, in 
which all his retinue consisted of a camel and a black slave. 
The surplus funds accruing to his treasury he dispensed every 
Friday, part to the meritorious, the rest to the poor, and was 
ever ready, from his own private means, to help the dis- 
tressed. On entering office he caused his daughter Ayesha 
to take a strict account of his private patrimony, to stand as 
a record against him should he enrich himself while in office. 

Notwithstanding all his merits, however, his advent to power 



6 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



was attended by public commotions. Many of the Arabian 
tribes had been converted by the sword, and it needed the com- 
bined terrors of a conqueror and a prophet to maintain them in 
allegiance to the faith. On the death of Mahomet, therefore, 
they spurned at the authority of his successor, and refused to 
pay the Zacat, or religious contributions of tribute, tithes, 
and alms. The signal of revolt flew from tribe to tribe, until 
the Islam empire suddenly shrank to the cities of Mecca, Medina, 
and Tayef. 

A strong body of the rebels even took the field and advanced 
upon Medina. They were led on by a powerful and popular 
Sheikh named Malec Ibn Nowirah. He was a man of high 
birth and great valour, an excellent horseman, and a distinguished 
poet — all great claims on Arab admiration. To these may be 
ridded the enviable fortune of having: for wife the most beautiful 
woman in all Arabia. 

Hearing of the approach of this warrior-poet and his army ? 
Abu Beker hastened to fortify the city, sending the women and 
children, the aged and infirm, to the rocks and caverns of the 
neighbouring mountains. 

But though Mahomet was dead, the sword of Islam was not 
buried with him, and Khaled Ibn Waled now stood forward to 
sustain the fame acquired by former acts of prowess. He was 
sent out against the rebels at the head of a hasty levy of four 
thousand five hundred men, and eleven banners. The wary 
Abu Beker, with whom discretion kept an equal pace with 
valour, had a high opinion of the character and talents of the 
rebel chief, and hoped, notwithstanding his defection, to conquer 
him by kindness. Khaled was instructed, therefore, should 
Malec fall into his pow 7 er, to treat him with great respect, to be 
lenient to the vanquished, and to endeavour, by gentle means, 
to win all back to the standard of Islam. 

Khaled, however, was a downright soldier, who had no liking 
for gentle means. Having overcome the rebels in a pitched 
battle, he overran their country, giving his soldiery permission 
to seize upon the flocks and herds of the vanquished, and make 
slaves of their children. 

Among the prisoners brought into his presence were Malec 
and his beautiful wife. The beauty of the latter dazzled the 
eyes even of the rough soldier, but probably hardened his 
heart against her husband. 

u Why," demanded he of Malec, " do you refuse to pay the 
Zacat?" 



ABU BEKER. 



7 



"Because I can pray to God without paying these exactions," 
was the reply. 

" Prayer, without alms, is of no avail," said Khaled. 

u Does your master say so ?" demanded Malec, haughtily. 

"My master !" echoed Khaled. "And is he not thy master 
likewise ? By Allah, I have a mind to strike off thy head !" 

"Are these also the orders of your master?" rejoined Malec, 
with a sneer. 

"'Again !" cried Khaled, in a fury. " Smite off the head of 
this rebel." 

His officers interfered, for all respected the prisoner ; but the 
rage of Khaled was not to be appeased. 

" The beauty of this woman kills me," said Malec, signifi- 
cantly, pointing to his wife. 

" Nay !" cried Khaled, " it is Allah who kills thee because 
of thine apostasy." 

" I am no apostate," said Malec ; " I profess the true 
faith — 

It was too late ; the signal of death had already been given. 
Scarce had the declaration of faith passed the lips of the unfor- 
tunate Malec, when his head fell beneath the scimetar of Derar 
Ibn al A swar, a rough soldier after Khaled's own heart. 

This summary execution, to which the beautv of a woman 
was alleged as the main excitement, gave deep concern to 
Abu Beker, who remarked, that the prophet had pardoned even 
Wacksa, the Ethiop, the slayer of his uncle Hamza, when the 
culprit made profession of the faith. As to Omar, he declared 
that Khaled, according to the laws of the Koran, ought to be 
stoned to death for adultery, or executed for the murder of a 
Moslem. The politic Abu Beker, however, observed that 
Khaled had sinned through error rather than intention. "Shall 
I," added he, " sheathe the sword of God ? The sword which 
he himself has drawn against the unbelieving ?" 

So far from sheathing the sword, we find it shortly afterwards 
employed in an important service. This was against the false 
prophet Moseilma, who, encouraged by the impunity with 
which, during the illness of Mahomet, he had been suffered to 
propagate his doctrines, had increased greatly the number of 
his proselytes and adherents, and held a kind of regal and sacer- 
dotal sway over the important city and fertile province of Ya- 
mama, between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Persia. 

There is quite a flavour of romance in the story of this im- 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET, 



postor. Among those dazzled by his celebrity and charmed by 
his rhapsodical effusions, was Sedjab, "wife of Abu Cahdla, a 
poetess of the tribe of Tamim, distinguished among the Arabs 
for her personal and mental charms. She came to see Moseilma 
in like manner as the Queen of Sheba came to witness the 
wisdom and grandeur of King Solomon. Thev were inspired 
with a mutual passion at the first interview, and passed much of 
their time together in tender, if not religious intercourse. 
Sedjah became a convert to the faith of her lover, and caught 
from him the imaginary gift of prophecy. He appears to have 
caught, in exchange, the gift of poetry, for certain amatory 
effusions, addressed by him to his beautiful visitant, are still 
preserved by an Arabian historian, and breathe all the warmth 
of the Song of Solomon. 

This dream of poetry and prophecy was interrupted by the 
approach of Khaled at the head of a numerous army. Mo- 
se'ilma sallied forth to meet him with a still greater force. A 
battle took place at Akreba, not far from the capital city of 
Yamama. At the onset the rebels had a transient success, and 
twelve hundred Moslems bit the dust. Khaled, however, rallied 
his forces ; the enemy were overthrown, and ten thousand cut 
to pieces. Moseilina fought with desperation, but fell, covered 
with wounds. It is said his death-blow was given by Wacksa, 
the Ethiopian, the same who had killed Hamza, uncle of Ma- 
homet, in the battle of Ohod, and that he used the self-same 
spear. Wacksa, since his pardon by Mahomet, had become a 
zealous 31oslem. 

The surviving disciples of Moseilma became promptly con- 
verted to Islamism under the pious but heavy hand of Khaled; 
whose late offence in the savage execution of Malec was com- 
pletely atoned for by his victory over the false prophet. He 
added other services of the same military kind in this critical 
juncture of public affairs; reinforcing and co-operating with 
certain commanders who had been sent in different directions 
to suppress rebellions; and it was chiefly through his prompt 
and energetic activity that, before the expiration of the first 
year of the Caliphat, order was restored, and the empire of Islam 
re-established in Arabia. 

It was shortly after the victory of Khaled over Moseilma, 
that Abu Beker undertook to gather together, from written and 
oral sources, the precepts and revelations of the Koran, which 
hitherto had existed partly in scattered documents, and partly 



ABU BEKER. 



9 



in the memories of the disciples and companions of the prophet. 
He was greatly urged to this undertaking by Omar, the ardent 
zealot for the faith. The latter had observed with alarm the 
number of veteran companions of the prophet who had fallen 
in the battle of Akreba. " In a little while/' said he, ' ' all the 
living testifiers to the faith, who bear the revelations of it in 
their memories, will have passed away, and with them so many 
records of the doctrines of Islam." He urged Abu Beker, 
therefore, to collect from the surviving disciples all that they 
remembered; and to gather together from all quarters whatever 
parts of the Koran existed in writing. The manner in which 
Abu Beker proceeded to execute this pious task has been noticed 
in the preceding volume ; it was not, however, completed until 
under a succeeding Caliph. 

CHAPTER III. 

The rebel tribes of Arabia being once more brought into 
allegiance, and tranquillity established at home, Abu Beker 
turned his thoughts to execute the injunction of the prophet, to 
propagate the faith throughout the world until all nations should 
be converted to Islamism, by persuasion or the sword. The 
moment was auspicious for such a gigantic task. The long and 
desolating wars between the Persian and Byzantine emperors, 
though now at an end, had exhausted those once mighty powers, 
and left their frontiers open to aggression. In the second year 
of his reign, therefore, Abu Beker prepared to carry out the 
great enterprise contemplated by Mahomet in his latter days — 
the conquest of Syria. 

Under this general name, it should be observed, were com- 
prehended the countries lying between the Euphrates and the 
Mediterranean, including Phoenicia and Palestine.* These 
countries, once forming a system of petty states and kingdoms, 
each with its own government and monarch, were now merged 
into the great Byzantine empire, and acknowledged the sway of 
the Emperor Heraclius at Constantinople. 

Syria had long been a land of promise to the Arabs. They 
had known it for ages by the intercourse of the caravans, and 
had drawn from it their chief supplies of corn. It was a land 
of abundance. Part of it was devoted to agriculture and 

* Syria, in its widest Oriental acceptation, included likewise Meso- 
potamia, Chaldea, and even Assyria, the whole forming what in Scrip- 
tural geography was denominated Aram. 



10 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



husbandry, covered with fields of grain, with vineyards and 
trees producing the finest fruits ; with pastures well stocked 
with flocks and herds. On the Arabian borders it had cities, 
the rich marts of internal trade ; while its seaports, though 
declined from the ancient splendour and pre-eminence of Tyre 
and Sidon, still were the staples of an opulent and widely 
extended commerce. 

In the twelfth year of the Hegira. the following summons 
was sent by Abu Beker to the chiefs of Arabia Petrea and 
Arabia Felix : — 

" In the name of the Most Merciful God! Abdallah Athek 
Ibn Abu Kahafa to all true believers, health, happiness, and 
the blessing of God. Praise be to God, and to M alio met his 
prophet ! This is to inform you that I intend to send an army 
of the faithful into Syria, to deliver that country from the 
infidels, and I remind you that to fight for the true faith is to 
obey God !" 

There needed no further inducement to bring to his standard 
every Arab that owned a horse or a camel, or could wield a 
lance. Every day brought some Sheikh to Medina at the bead 
of the fighting men of his tribe, and before long the fields 
round the city were studded with encampments. The command 
of the army was given to Yezed Ibn Abu Sofian. The troops 
soon became impatient to strike their sunburnt tents and march. 
" Why do we loiter f" cried they ; u all our fighting men are 
here ; there are none more to come. The plains of Medina are 
parched and bare ; there is no food for man or steed. Give us 
the word, and let us march for the fruitful land of Syria." 

Abu Beker assented to their wishes. From the brow of a 
hill he reviewed the army on the point of departure. The 
heart of the Caliph swelled with pious exultation as he looked 
down upon the stirring multitude ; the glittering array of arms : 
the squadrons of horsemen ; the lengthening line of camels ; 
and called to mind the scanty handful that used to gather round 
the standard of the prophet. Scarce ten years had elapsed 
since the latter had been driven a fugitive from Mecca, and now 
a mighty host assembled at the summons of his successor, and 
distant empires were threatened by the sword of Islam. Filled 
with these thoughts, he lifted up his voice and prayed to God 
to make these troops valiant and victorious. Then giving the 
word to march, the tents were struck, the camels laden, and in 
a little while the army poured in a long continuous train over 
hill and valley. 



ABU BEKEK. 



11 



Abu Beker accompanied them on foot on the first day's 
march, The leaders would have dismounted and yielded him 
their steeds. M ^ay," said he, " ride on. You are in the 
service of Allah. As for me, I shall he rewarded for every 
step I take in his cause." 

His parting charge to Yezed, the commander of the army, 
was a singular mixture of severity and mercy. 

u Treat your soldiers with kindness and consideration ; be 
just in all your dealings with them, and consult their feelings 
and opinions. Fight valiantly, and never turn your back upon 
a foe. When victorious harm not the aged, and protect women 
and children. Destroy not the palm-tree, nor fruit trees of 
any kind ; waste not the cornfield with fire ; nor kill any cattle 
excepting for food. Stand faithfully to every covenant and 
promise ; respect all religious persons who live in hermitages 
or convents, and spare their edifices. But should you meet 
with a class of unbelievers of a different kind, who go about 
with shaven crowns, and belong to the synagogue of Satan, be 
sure you cleave their skulls unless they embrace the true faith, 
or render tribute." 

Having received this summary charge, Yezed continued Ins 
march toward Syria, and the pious Caliph returned to Medina. 

The prayers which the latter had put up for the success of 
the army appeared to be successful. Before long a great caval- 
cade of horses, mules, and camels, laden with booty, poured 
into the gates of Medina. Yezed had encountered, on the con- 
fines of Syria, a body of troops detached by the Emperor 
Heraciius to observe him, and had defeated them, killing the 
general and twelve hundred men. He had been equally suc- 
cessful in various subsequent skirmishes. All the booty gained 
in these actions had been sent to the Caliph, as an offering by 
the army of the first fruits of the harvest of Syria. 

Abu Beker sent tidings of this success to Mecca, and the 
surrounding country, calling upon all true believers to press 
forward in the career of victory, thus prosperously commenced. 

Another army was soon set on foot, the command of which 
was given to Seid Ibn Khaled. This appointment, however, 
not being satisfactory to Omar, whose opinions and wishes had 
vast weight at 3Iedina, Ayesha prevailed on her father to invite 
Seid to resign, and to appoint in his place Amru Ibn al A ass ; 
the same who in the early days of the faith ridiculed Mahomet 
and his doctrines in satirical verses ; but who, since his con- 



12 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



version to Islamism, bad risen to eminence in its service, and 
was one of its most valiant and efficient champions. 

Such was the zeal of the Moslems in the prosecution of this 
holy war. that Seid Ibn Khaled cheerfully resigned his command, 
and enlisted under the standard which he had lately reared. 

At the departure of the army Abu Beker, who was excellent 
at counsel, and fond of bestowing it, gave Amru a code of con- 
duct for his government ; admonishing him to live righteously, 
as a dying man in the presence of God, and accountable for all 
things in a future state. That he should not trouble himself 
about the private concerns of others ; and should forbid his men 
all religious disputes about events and doctrines of the lt times 
of ignorance ;" that is to say. the times antecedent to Mahomet; 
but should enforce the diligent reading of the Koran, which 
contained all that was necessary for them to know. 

As there would now be large bodies of troops in Syria, and 
various able commanders, Abu Beker, in maturing the plan of 
his campaign, assigned them different points of action. Amru 
was to draw toward Palestine ; Abu Obeidah to undertake 
Emessa; Seid Ibn Abu Sofian. Damascus; and Serhil Ibn 
Hasan, the country about the Jordan. They were all to act 
as much as possible in concert, and to aid each other in case of 
need. When together they were all to be under the orders of 
Abu Obeidah, to whom was given the general command in 
Syria. This veteran disciple of the prophet stood high, as we 
have shown, in the esteem and confidence of Abu Beker, having 
been one of the two whom he had named as worthy of the 
Caliphat. He was now about fifty years of age ; zealously devoted 
to the cause, yet one with whom the sword of faith was sheathed 
in meekness and humanity ; perhaps the cautious Abu Beker 
thought his moderation would be a salutary check to the head- 
long valour of the fanatical soldiers of Islam. 

While this grand campaign was put in operation against the 
Roman possessions in Syria, a minor force was sent to invade 
Irak. This province, which included the ancient Chaldea and 
the Babylonia of Ptolemv. was bounded on the east by Susiana 
or Khurzestan and the mountains of Assyria and Medea, on the 
north by part of Mesopotamia, on the west and south by the 
Deserts of Sham or Svria and by a part of Arabia Deserta. 
It was a region tributarv to the Persian monarch, and so far a 
part of his dominions. The campaign in this quarter was con- 
fided to Khaled, of whose prowess Abu Beker had an exalted 



ABU BEKER. 



13 



opinion, and who was at this time at the head of a moderate 
force in one of the rebellious provinces which he had brought 
into subjection. The Caliph's letter to him was to the follow- 
ing effect. " Turn thee toward Arabian Irak ! The conquest 
of Hira and Cufa is intrusted to thee. After the subjection of 
these lands, turn thee against Aila, and subdue it with God's 
help !" 

Hira was a kingdom to the west of Babylonia, on the verge 
of the Syrian Desert : it had been founded by a race of Arabs, 
descendants of Kahtan, and had subsisted upwards of six 
hundred years ; the greater part of the time it had been under 
a line of princes of the house of Mondar ; who acknowledged 
allegiance to the kings of Persia, and acted as their lieutenants 
over the Arabs of Irak. 

During the early part of the third century many Jacobite 
Christians had been driven, by the persecutions and disorders 
of the Eastern church, to take refuge among the Arabs of 
Hira. Their numbers had been augmented in subsequent 
times by fugitives from various quarters, until, shortly before 
the birth of Mahomet, the King of Hira and all his subjects 
had embraced Christianity. 

Much was said of the splendour of the capital, which bore 
the same name with the kingdom. Here were two palaces of 
extraordinary magnificence, the beauty of one of which, if Ara- 
bian legends speak true, was fatal to the architect ; for the king, 
fearing that he might build one still more beautiful for some other 
monarch, had him thrown headlong from the tower. 

Khaled acted with his usual energy and success in the 
invasion of this kingdom. With ten thousand men he be- 
sieged the city of Hira ; stormed its palaces ; slew the king in 
battle ; subdued the kingdom ; imposed on it an annual tribute 
of seventy thousand pieces of gold, the first tribute ever levied 
by Moslems on a foreign land, and sent the same, with the 
son of the deceased king, to Medina. 

He next carried his triumphant arms against Aila, defeated 
Hormuz, the Persian governor, and sent his crown, with a fifth 
part of the booty, to the Caliph. The crown was of great 
value, being one of the first class of those worn by the seven 
vicegerents of the Persian " King of Kings." Among the 
trophies of victory sent to Medina was an elephant. Three 
other Persian generals and governors made several attempts, 
with powerful armies, to check the victorious career of Khaled, 
but were alike defeated. City after city fell into his hands ; 



14 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



nothing seemed capable of withstanding his arms. Planting 
his victorious standard on the bank of the Euphrates, he wrote 
to the Persian monarch, calling upon him to embrace the faith 
or pay tribute. " If you refuse both," added he, "I will come 
upon you with a host who love death as much as you do life. 5 ' 

The repeated convoys of booty sent by Khaled to Medina 
after his several victories, the sight of captured crowns and 
captured princes, and of the first tribute imposed on foreign 
lands, had excited the public exultation to an uncommon de- 
gree. Abu Beker especially took pride in his achievements ; 
considering them proofs of his own sagacity and foresight, 
which he had shown in refusing to punish him with death when 
strongly urged to do so by Omar. As victory after victory 
was announced, and train after train laden with spoils crowded 
the gates of Medina, he joyed to see his anticipations so far 
outstripped by the deeds of this headlong warrior. " By 
Allah !" exclaimed he, in an ecstasy, " womankind is too weak 
to give birth to another Khaled." 

CHAPTER IV. 
The exultation of the Caliph over the triumphs in Irak was 
checked by tidings of a different tone from the army in Syria. 
Abu Obeidah, who had the general command, wanted the bold- 
ness and enterprise requisite to an invading general. A partial 
defeat of some of his troops discouraged him, and he heard with 
disquiet of vast hosts which the Emperor Heraclius was assem- 
bling to overwhelm him. His letters to the Caliph partook of 
the anxiety and perplexity of his mind. Abu Beker, whose 
generally sober mind was dazzled at the time by the daring 
exploits of Khaled, was annoyed at finding that, while the latter 
was dashing forward in a brilliant career of conquest in Irak, 
Abu Obeidah was merely standing on the defensive in Syria. 
In the vexation of the moment, he regretted that he had in- 
trusted the invasion of the latter country to one who appeared 
to him a nerveless man ; and he forthwith sent missives to 
Khaled, ordering him to leave the prosecution of the war in Irak 
to his subordinate generals, and repair, in all haste, to aid the 
armies in Syria, and take the general command there. Khaled 
obeyed the orders with his usual promptness. Leaving his army 
under the charge of Mosenna Ibn Haris, he put himself at the 
head of fifteen hundred horse, and spurred over the Syrian 
borders to join the Moslem host, which he learned, while on the 
way, was drawing toward the Christian city of Bosra. 



ABU BEKER. 



15 



This city, the reader will recollect, was the great mart on 
the Syrian frontier, annually visited by the caravans, and where 
Mahomet, when a youth, had his first interview with Sergius, 
the Nestorian monk, from whom he was said to have received 
instructions in the Christian faith. It was a place usually filled 
with merchandise, and held out a promise of great booty ; but 
it was strongly walled, its inhabitants were inured to arms, and 
it could at any time pour forth twelve thousand horse. Its 
very name, in the Syrian tongue, signified a tower of safety. 
Against this place Abu Obeidah had sent Serjabil Ibn Hasanah, 
a veteran secretary of Mahomet, with a troop of ten thousand 
horse. On his approach, Romanus, the governor of the city, 
notwithstanding the strength of the place and of the garrison, 
would fain have paid tribute, for he was dismayed by the 
accounts he had received of the fanatic zeal and irresistible 
valour of the Moslems ; but his people were stout of heart, and 
insisted on fighting. 

The venerable Serjabil, as he drew near to the city, called 
upon Allah to grant the victory promised in his name by his 
apostle ; and to establish the truth of his unity by confounding 
its opposers. His prayers apparently were of no avail. Squad- 
ron after squadron of horsemen wheeled down from the gates of 
Bosra, attacked the Moslems on every side, threw them into 
confusion, and made great slaughter. Overwhelmed by num- 
bers, Serjabil was about to order a retreat, when a great cloud 
of dust gave notice of another army at hand. 

There was a momentary pause on both sides, but the shout 
of Allah Achbar! Allah Achbar! resounded through the Mos- 
lem host, as the eagle banner of Khaled was descried through 
the cloud. That warrior came galloping to the field, at the 
head of his troop of horsemen, all covered with dust. Charging 
the foe with his characteristic impetuosity, he drove them back 
to the city, and planted his standard before the walls. 

The battle over, Serjabil would have embraced his deliverer, 
who was likewise his ancient friend, but Khaled regarded him 
reproachfully. " What madness possessed thee," said he, * to 
attack with thy handful of horsemen a fortress girt with stone 
walls and thronged with soldiers ?" 

" I acted," said Serjabil, " not for myself, but at the com- 
mand of Abu Obeidah." 

" Abu Obeidah," replied Khaled, bluntly, " is a very worthy 
man, but he knows little of warfare." 

In effect the army of Syria soon found the difference between 



16 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



the commanders. The soldiers of Khaled, fatigued with a hard 
march and harder combat, snatched a hasty repast, and, throw- 
ing themselves upon the ground, were soon asleep. Khaled 
alone took no rest ; but, mounting a fresh horse, prowled all 
night round the city and the camp, fearing some new irruption 
from the foe. 

At daybreak he roused his army for the morning prayer. 
Some of the troops performed their ablutions with water, others 
with sand. Khaled put up the matin prayer : then every man 
grasped his weapon and sprang to horse, for the gates of Bosra 
were already pouring forth their legions. The eyes of Khaled 
kindled as he saw them prancing down into the plain, and glit- 
tering in the rising sun. ' i These infidels, 99 said he, " think us 
weary and way worn, but they will be confounded. Forward to 
the fight, for the blessing of Allah is with us !" 

As the armies approached each other, Romanus rode in ad- 
vance of his troops, and defied the Moslem chief to single com- 
bat. Khaled advanced on the instant. Rom anus, however, 
instead of levelling his lance, entered into a parley in an under 
tone of voice. He declared that he was a Mahometan at heart, 
and had incurred great odium among the people of the place 
by endeavouring to persuade them to pay tribute. He now 
offered to embrace Islamism, and to return and do his best to 
yield the city into the hands of the Moslems, on condition of 
security for life, liberty, and property. 

Khaled readily assented to the condition, but suggested that 
they should exchange a few dry blows, to enable Romanus 
to return to the city with a better grace, and prevent a sus- 
picion of collusion. Romanus agreed to the proposal, but with 
no great relish, for he was an arrant craven. He would fain 
have made a mere feint and flourish of weapons; but Khaled 
had a heavy hand and a kindling spirit, and dealt such 
hearty blows, that he would have severed the other in twain, or 
cloven him to the saddle, had he struck with the edge instead of 
the flat of the sw r ord. 

st Softly, softly," cried Romanus. " Is this what you call 
sham fighting; or do you mean to slay me?" 

" By no means," replied Khaled, " but we must lay on our 
blows a little roughly, to appear in earnest." 

Romanus, battered and bruised, and wounded in several 
places, was glad to get back to his army with his life. He now 
extolled the prowess of Khaled, and advised the citizens to ne- 
gotiate a surrender; but they upbraided him with his cow- 



ABU BEKEIi. 



17 



ardice, stripped him of his command, and made him a prisoner 
in his own house; substituting in his place the general who had 
come to them with reinforcements from the Emperor Heraclius. 

The new governor, as his first essay in command, sallied in 
advance of the army, and defied Khaled to combat. Abda- 
'lrahman, son of the Caliph, a youth of great promise, begged 
of Khaled the honour of being his champion. His request be- 
ing granted, he rode forth, well armed, to the encounter. The 
combat was of short duration. At the onset the governor 
was daunted by the fierce countenance of the youthful Moslem, 
and confounded by the address with which he managed his 
horse and wielded his lance. At the first wound he lost all 
presence of mind, and turning the reins, endeavoured to escape 
by dint of hoof. His steed was swiftest, and he succeeded in 
throwing himself into the midst of his forces. The impetuous 
youth spurred after him, cutting and slashing, right and left, 
and hewing his way with his scimetar. 

Khaled, delighted with his valour, but alarmed at his peril, 
gave the signal for a general charge. To the fight! to the 
fight! Paradise! Paradise! was the maddening cry. Horse 
was spurred against horse; man grappled man. The desperate 
conflict was witnessed from the walls, and spread dismay 
through the city. The bells rang alarums, the shrieks of women 
and children mingled with the prayers and chants of priests 
and monks moving in procession through the streets. 

The Moslems, too, called upon Allah for succour, mingling 
pravers and execrations as they fought. At length the troops 
of Eosra gave way; the squadrons that had sallied forth so 
gloriously in the morning, were driven back in broken and 
headlong masses to the city; the gates were hastily swung to 
and barred after them ; and, while they panted with fatigue 
and terror behind their bulwarks, the standards and banners of 
the cross were planted on the battlements, and couriers were 
sent off imploring reinforcements from the emperor. 

Night closed upon the scene of battle. The stifled groans of 
wounded warriors, mingled with the wailings of women, and the 
prayers of monks and friars, were heard in the once joyful 
streets of Bosra ; while sentinels walked the rounds of the Arab 
camp to guard it against the desperation of the foe. 

AbdaTrahman commanded one of the patrols. Walking his 
round beneath the shadow of the city walls, he beheld a man 
come stealthily forth, the embroidery of whose garments, 



18 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



faintly glittering in the starlight, betrayed him to be a person 
of consequence. The lance of Abda'lrahman was at his breast, 
when he proclaimed himself to be Romanus, and demanded to 
be led to Khaled. On entering the tent of that leader, he in- 
veighed against the treatment he had experienced from the 
people of Bosra, and invoked vengeance. They had confined 
him to his house, but it was built against the wall of the city. 
He had caused his sons and servants, therefore, to break a hole 
through it, by which he had issued forth, and by which he 
offered to introduce a band of soldiers, who might throw open 
the city gates to the army. 

His offer was instantly accepted, and Abda'lrahman was in- 
trusted with the dangerous enterprise. He took with him a 
hundred picked men, and, conducted by Romanus, entered in 
the dead of night, by the breach in the wall, into the house of 
the traitor. Here they were refreshed with food, and disguised 
to look ]ike the soldiers of the garrison. Abda'lrahman then 
divided them into four bands of twenty-five men each ; three of 
which he sent in different directions, with orders to keep quiet 
until he and his followers should give the signal-shout of Allah 
Achbar ! He then requested Romanus to conduct him to the 
quarters of the governor, who had fled the fight with him that 
day. Under the guidance of the traitor, he and his twenty-five 
men passed with noiseless steps through the streets. Most of 
the unfortunate people of Bosra had sunk to sleep ; but now and 
then the groan of some wounded warrior, or the lament of some 
afflicted woman, broke the stillness of the night and startled the 
prowlers. 

Arrived at the gate of the citadel they surprised the sentinels, 
who mistook them for a friendly patrol, and made their way to 
the governor's chamber. Romanus entered first, and summoned 
the governor to receive a friend. 

" What friend seeks me at this hour of the night?" 

" Thy friend Abda'lrahman," cried Romanus, with malignant 
triumph ; " who comes to send thee to hell !" 

The wretched poltroon would have fled. " Nay," cried 
Abda'lrahman, " you escape me not a second time !" and with 
a blow of his scimetar laid him dead at his feet. He then gave 
the signal shout of Allah Achbar ! It was repeated by his 
followers at the portal ; echoed by the other parties in different 
quarters ; the city gates were thrown open, the legions of 
Khaled and Serjabil rushed in, and the whole city resounded 



ABU BEKER. 



19 



with the cries of Allah Achbar! The inhabitants, startled 
from their sleep, hastened forth to know the meaning of the 
uproar, but were cut down at their thresholds, and a horrible 
carnage took place, until there was a general cry for quarter , 
Then, in compliance with one of the precepts of Mahomet, 
Khaled put a stop to the slaughter, and received the survivors 
under the yoke. 

The savage tumult being appeased, the unhappy inhabitants 
of Bosra inquired as to the mode in which they had been sur- 
prised. Khaled hesitated to expose the baseness of Romanus ; 
but the traitor gloried in his shame, and in the vengeance he 
had wreaked upon former friends. "'Twas I!" cried he, with 
demoniac exultation. " I renounce ye both in this world and 
the next. I deny him who was crucified, and despise his wor- 
shippers. I choose Islam for my faith, the Caaba for my 
temple, the Moslems for my brethren, Mahomet for my prophet ; 
and I bear witness that there is but one only God, who has no 
partner in his power and glory." 

Having made this full recantation of his old faith and profes- 
sion of his new, in fulfilment of his traitorous compact, the 
apostate departed from Bosra, followed by the execrations of its 
inhabitants, among whom he durst no longer abide ; and Khaled, 
although he despised him in his heart, appointed a guard to 
protect his property from plunder. 

CHAPTER V. 

The capture of Bosra increased the ambition and daring of 
the Moslems, and Khaled now aspired to the conquest of Da- 
mascus. This renowned and beautiful city, one of the largest 
and most magnificent of the East, and reputed to be the oldest 
in the world, stood in a plain of wonderful richness and fertility, 
covered with groves and gardens, and bounded by an amphi- 
theatre of hills, the skirts of Mount Lebanon. A river, called 
by the ancients Chrysorrhoa, or the stream of gold, flows 
through this plain, feeding the canals and watercourses of its 
gardens, and the fountains of the city. 

The commerce of the place bespoke the luxuriance of the 
soil, dealing in wines, silks, wool, prunes, raisins, figs of unri- 
valled flavour, sweet-scented waters, and perfumes. The fields 
were covered with odoriferous flowers, and the rose of Damascus 
has become famous throughout the world. This is one of the 
few, the very few, cities famous in ancient times which still 

c 2 



20 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



retain a trace of ancient delights. " The citron/' says a recent 
traveller, " perfumes the air for many miles round the city, and 
the fig-trees are of vast size. The pomegranate and orange 
grow in thickets. There is the trickling of water on every 
hand. Wherever you go there is a trotting brook, or a full 
and silent stream beside the track ; and you have frequently to 
cross from one vivid green meadow to another by fording, or by 
little bridges. These streams are all from the river beloved by 
Xaaman of old. He might well ask whether the Jordan was 
better than Pharpar and Abana, the rivers of Damascus." 

In this city, too, were invented those silken stufTs called 
damask, from the place of their origin, and those swords and 
scimetars proverbial for their matchless temper. 

When Khaled resolved to strike for this great prize, he had 
but fifteen hundred horse, which had followed him from Irak, 
in addition to the force which he found with Serjabil ; having, 
however, the general command of the troops in Syria, he wrote 
to Abu Obeidah to join him with his army, amounting to thirty- 
seven thousand men. 

The Moslems, accustomed to the aridity of the desert, gazed 
with wonder and delight upon the rich plain of Damascus. As 
they wound in lengthening flies along the banks of the shining 
river, through verdant and flowery fields, or among groves and 
vineyards and blooming gardens, it seemed as if they were 
already realising the paradise promised by the prophet to true 
believers ; but when the fanes and towers of Damascus rose to 
sight from among tufted bowers, they broke forth into shouts of 
transport. 

Heraclius, the emperor, was at Antioch, the capital of his 
Syrian dominions, when he heard of the advance of the Arabs 
upon the city of Damascus. He supposed the troops of Khaled, 
however, to be a mere predatory band, intent, as usual, on 
hasty ravage, and easily repulsed when satisfied with plunder ; 
and he felt little alarm for the safety of the city, knowing it to 
be very populous, strongly fortified, and well garrisoned. He 
contented himself, therefore, with despatching a general, named 
Caloiis, with five thousand men, to reinforce it. 

In passing through the country, Caloiis found the people 
flying to castles and other strongholds, and putting them in a 
state of defence. As he approached Baalbec, the women came 
forth with dishevelled hair, wringing their hands, and uttering 
cries of despair. "Alas!" cried they, "the Arabs overrun the 



ABU BEKEPw. 



21 



land, and nothing can withstand them. Aracah and Sachnah, 
and Tadmor and Bosra, have fallen, and who shall protect 
Damascus !" * 

Caloiis inquired the force of the invaders. 

They knew but of the troops of Khaled, and answered, 
'•'Fifteen hundred horse/' 

" Be of good cheer," said Caloiis ; " in a few days I will re- 
turn with the head of Khaled on the point of this good spear.'' 

He arrived at Damascus before the Moslem army came in 
sight, and the same self-confidence marked his proceedings. 
Arrogating to himself the supreme command, he would have 
deposed and expelled the former governor, Azrail, a meritorious 
old soldier, well beloved by the people. Violent dissensions 
immediately arose, and the city, instead of being prepared for 
defence, was a prey to internal strife. 

In the height of these tumults, the army of Khaled, forty 
thousand strong, being augmented by that of Abu Obeidah, 
was descried marching across the plain. The sense of danger 
calmed the fury of contention, and the two governors sallied 
forth, with a great part of the garrison, to encounter the 
invaders. 

Both armies drew up in battle array. Khaled was in front 
of the Moslem line, and with him was his brother in arms, 
Derar Ibn al Azwar. The latter was mounted on a fine Arabian 
mare, and poised a ponderous lance, looking a warrior at all 
points. Khaled regarded him with friendly pride, and resolved 
to give him an opportunity of distinguishing himself. For this 
purpose he detached him with a small squadron of horse to feel 
the pulse of the enemy. Xow is the time, Derar," cried he, 
"to show thyself a man, and emulate the deeds of thy father 
and other illustrious soldiers of the faith. Forward in the 
righteous cause, and Allah will protect thee/' 

Derar levelled his lance, and at the head of his handful of 
followers charged into the thickest of the foe. In the first 
encounter four horsemen fell beneath his arm ; then wheeling 
off, and soaring as it were into the field to mark a different 
quarry, he charged with his little troop upon the foot soldiers, 
slew six with his own hand, trampled down others, and pro- 
duced great confusion. The Christians, however, recovered 
from a temporary panic, and opposed him with overwhelming 
numbers and Roman discipline. Derar saw the inequality of 
the fight, and having glutted his martial fury, showed the Arab 



22 



THE SUCCESSORS OF 3IAHOMET. 



dexterity at retreat, making his way back safely to the Moslem 
army, by whom he was received with acclamation. 

Abda'lrahman gave a similar proof of fiery courage ; but his 
cavalry was received by a battalion of infantry arranged in 
phalanx with extended spears, while stones and darts hurled 
from a distance galled both horse and rider. He also, after 
making a daring assault and sudden carnage, retired upon the 
spur and rejoined the army. 

Khaled now emulated the prowess of his friends, and career- 
ing in front of the enemy, launched a general defiance to single 
combat. 

The jealousies of the two Christian commanders continued in 
the field. Azrail, turning to Calous, taunted him to accept the 
challenge as a matter of course ; seeing he was sent to protect 
the country in this hour of danger. 

The vaunting of Calous was at an end. He had no inclina- 
tion for so close a fight with such an enemy, but pride would 
not permit him to refuse. He entered into the conflict with a 
faint heart, and in a short time would have retreated, but 
Khaled wheeled between him and his army. He then fought 
with desperation, and the contest was furious on both sides, 
until Calous beheld his blood streaming' down his armour. His 
heart failed him at the sig"ht ; his strength flavored ; he fought 
merely on the defensive. Khaled, perceiving this, suddenly 
closed with him, shifted his lance to his left hand, grasped 
Calous with the right, dragged him out of the saddle, and bore 
him off captive to the Moslem host, who rent the air with 
triumphant shouts. 

Mounting a fresh horse, Khaled prepared again for battle. 

" Tarry, my friend," cried Derar; "repose thyself for a 
time, and I will take thy place." 

" Oh, Derar." replied Khaled, "he who labours to-day shall 
rest to-morrow. There will be repose sufficient amidst the 
delights of paradise !" 

When about to return to the field, Calous demanded a mo- 
ment's audience, and making use of the traitor Romanus as an 
interpreter, advised Khaled to bend all his efforts against Azrail, 
the former governor of the city, whose death he said would be 
the surest means of gaining the victory. Thus a spirit of envy 
induced him to sacrifice the good of his country to the desire 
of injuring a rival. 

Khaled was willing- to take advice even from an enemy, 



ABU BEKER. 



23 



especially when it fell in with his own humour ; he advanced, 
therefore, in front, challenging Azrail loudly by name. The 
latter quickly appeared, well armed and mounted, and with 
undaunted bearing. 

The contest was long and obstinate. The combatants 
paused for breath. Khaled could not but regard his adversary 
with admiration. 

" Thy name/' said he, " is Azrail ?" (This is the Arabic 
name for the angel of death.) 

"Azrail is my name," replied the other. 

"By Allah!" replied Khaled, "thy namesake is at hand, 
waiting to carry thy soul to the fire of Jehennam !" 

They renewed the fight. Azrail, who was the most fleetly 
mounted, being sorely pressed, made use of an Arabian strata- 
gem, and giving the reins to his steed pretended to fly the 
field. Having distanced his adversary and fatigued his horse, 
he suddenly wheeled about and returned to the charge. Khaled, 
however, was not to be outdone in stratagem. Throwing him- 
self lightly from his saddle just as his antagonist came galloping 
upon him, he struck at the legs of his horse, brought him to 
the ground, and. took his rider prisoner. 

The magnanimity of Khaled was not equal to his valour ; 
or rather his fanatical zeal overcame all generous feelings. He 
admired Azrail as a soldier ; but detested him as an infidel. 
Placing him beside his late rival Caloiis, he called upon both 
to renounce Christianity and embrace the faith of Islam. They 
persisted in a firm refusal ; upon which he gave the signal, and 
their heads were struck off and thrown over the walls into the 
city, a fearful warning to the inhabitants. 

CHAPTER VI. 
The siege of Damascus continued with increasing rigour. The 
inhabitants were embarrassed and dismayed by the loss of their 
two governors, and the garrison was thinned by frequent skir- 
mishes, in which the bravest warriors were sure to fall. At 
length the soldiers ceased to sally forth, and the place became 
strictly invested. Khaled, with one half of the army, drew near 
to the walls of the east side ; while Abu Obeidah, with the other 
half, was stationed on the west. The inhabitants now attempted 
to corrupt Khaled, offering him a thousand ounces of gold, and 
two hundred magnificent damask robes to raise the siege. His 
reply was, that they must embrace the Islam faith, pay tribute, 
or fight unto the death. 



24 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



While the Arabs lay thus encamped round the city, as if 
watching its expiring throes, they were surprised one day by the 
unusual sound of shouts of joy within its walls. Sending out 
scouts, they soon learnt the astounding intelligence that a great 
army was marching to the relief of the place. 

The besieged, in fact, in the height of their extremity, had 
lowered a messenger from the walls in the dead of the night, 
bearing tidings to the emperor at Antioch of their perilous con- 
dition, and imploring prompt and efficient succour. Aware for 
the first time of the rea] magnitude of the danger, Heraclius de- 
spatched an army of a hundred thousand men to their relief, led 
on by Werdan, prefect of Emessa, an experienced general. 

Khaled would at once have marched to meet the foe ; alleging 
that so great a host could come only in divisions, which might 
be defeated in detail ; the cautious and quiet Abu Obeidah, 
however, counselled to continue the siege, and send some able 
officer with a detachment to check and divert the advancing 
army. His advice was adopted, and Derar, the cherished com- 
panion in arms of Khaled, was chosen for the purpose. That 
fiery Moslem was ready to march at once and attack the enemy 
with any handful of men that might be assigned him ; but 
Khaled rebuked his inconsiderate zeal. % We are expected," 
said he, " to fight for the faith, but not to throw ourselves away." 
Allotting to his friend, therefore, one thousand chosen horsemen, 
he recommended to him to hang on the flanks of the enemy and 
impede their march. 

The fleetly mounted band of Derar soon came in sight of the 
van of Werdan's army, slowly marching in heavy masses. They 
were for hovering about it and harassing it in the Arab manner, 
but the impetuous valour of Derar was inflamed, and he swore 
not to draw back a step without hard fighting. He was 
seconded by Rati Ibn Omeirah, who reminded the troops that 
a handful of the faithful was sufficient to defeat an army of 
infidels. 

The battle-cry was given. Derar, with some of his choicest 
troops, attacked the centre of the army, seeking to grapple with 
the general, whom he beheld there, surrounded by his guard. 
At the very onset he struck down the prefect's right-hand man, 
and then his standard-bearer. Several of Derar's followers 
sprang from their steeds to seize the standard, a cross richly 
adorned with precious stones, while he beat off the enemy, who 
endeavoured to regain it. The captured cross was borne off in 
triumph ; but at the same moment Derar received a wound in 



ABU BEKER. 



25 



the left arm from a javelin, launched by a son of Werdan. 
Turning upon the youth, he thrust his lance into his body, but, 
in withdrawing it, the iron head remained in the wound. Thus 
left, unarmed, he defended himself for a time with the mere 
truncheon of the lance, but was overpowered and taken prisoner. 
The Moslems fought furiously to rescue him, but in vain, and he 
was borne captive from the field. They would now have fled, 
but they were recalled by Rafi Ibn Omeirah. c< Whoever flies," 
cried he, " turns his back upon God and his prophet. Paradise 
is for those who fall in battle. If your captain be dead, God is 
living, and sees your actions.'' 

They rallied and stood at bay. The fortune of the day was 
against them ; they were attacked by tenfold their number, and 
though they fought with desperation, they would soon have been 
cut to pieces, had not Khaled, at that critical moment, arrived 
at the scene of action with the greater part of his forces ; a 
swift horseman having brought him tidings of the disastrous 
affray, and the capture of his friend. 

On arriving, he stopped not to parley, but charged into the 
thickest of the foe, where he saw most banners, hoping there to 
find his captive friend. Wherever he turned he hewed a path 
before him, but Derar was not to be found. At length a pri- 
soner told him that the captive had been sent off to Emessa 
under a strong escort. Khaled instantly despatched Rafi Ibn 
Omeirah with a hundred horse in pursuit. They soon overtook 
the escort, attacked them furiously, slew several, and put 
the rest to flight, who left Derar, bound with cords, upon his 
charger. 

By the time that Rafi and Derar rejoined the Moslem army, 
Khaled had defeated the whole forces of Werdan, division after 
division, as they arrived successively at the field of action. In 
this manner a hundred thousand troops were defeated, in detail, 
by less than a third of their number, inspired by fanatic valour, 
and led on by a skilful and intrepid chief. Thousands of the 
fugitives were killed in the pursuit ; an immense booty in 
treasure, arms, baggage, and horses fell to the victors, and 
Khaled led back his army, flushed with conquest, but fatigued 
with fighting and burthened with spoil, to resume the siege of 
Damascus. 

CHAPTER VII. 
The tidings of the defeat of Werdan and his powerful army, 
made the Emperor Heraclius tremble in his palace at Antioch 
for the safety of his Syrian kingdom. Hastily levying another 



26 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



army of seventy thousand men, he put them under the com- 
mand of Werdan, at Aiznadin, with orders to hasten to the 
relief of Damascus, and attack the Arab army, which must be 
diminished and enfeebled by the recent battle. 

Khaled took counsel of Abu Obeidah how to avoid the 
impending storm. It was determined to raise the siege of 
Damascus, and seek the enemy promptly at Aiznadin. Con- 
scious, however, of the inadequacy of his forces, Khaled sent 
missives to all the Moslem generals within his call. 

"In the name of the most merciful God! Khaled Ibn al 
Walid to Amru Ibn al Aass, health and happiness. The 
Moslem brethren are about to march to Aiznadin to do battle 
with seventy thousand Greeks, who are coming to extinguish 
the light of God. But Allah will preserve his light in despite 
of all the infidels. Come to Aiznadin with thy troops ; for, 
God willing, thou shalt find me there." These missives sent, 
he broke up his encampment before Damascus, and marched, 
with his whole force, toward Aiznadin. He would have placed 
Abu Obeidah at the head of the army, but the latter modestly 
remarked, that as Khaled was now commander-in-chief, that 
station appertained to him. Abu Obeidah, therefore, brought 
up the rear, where were the baggage, the booty, the women, 
and the children. 

When the garrison of Damascus saw their enemy on the 
march, they sallied forth under two brothers named Peter and 
Paul. The former led ten thousand infantry, the latter six 
thousand horse. Overtaking the rear of the Moslems, Paul 
with his cavalry charged into the midst of them, cutting down 
some, trampling others under foot, and spreading wide confu- 
sion. Peter, in the meantime, with his infantry, made a sweep 
of the camp equipage, the baggage, and the accumulated 
booty, and capturing most of the women, made off with his 
spoils towards Damascus. 

Tidings of this onset having reached Khaled in the van, he 
sent Derar, Abda'lrahman, and Rafi Ibn Omeirah, scouring 
back, each at the head of tw r o hundred horse, while he followed 
w 7 ith the main force. 

Derar and his associates soon turned the tide of battle, 
routing Paul and his cavalry with such slaughter, that of the 
six thousand but a small part escaped to Damascus. Paul 
threw himself from his horse, and attempted to escape on foot, 
but was taken prisoner. The exultation of the victors, how- 
ever, was damped by the intelligence that their women had 



ABU BEKER. 



27 



been carried away captive, and great was the grief of Derar 
on learning that his sister Caulah, a woman of great beauty, 
was among the number. 

In the mean time, Peter and his troops, with their spoils and 
captives, had proceeded on the way to Damascus, but halted 
under some trees beside a fountain, to refresh themselves and 
divide their booty. In the division, Caulah, the sister of 
Derar, was allotted to Peter. This done, the captors went 
into their tents to carouse and make merry with the spoils, 
leaving the women among the baggage, bewailing their captive 
state. 

Caulah, however, was the worthy sister of Derar. Instead 
of weeping and wringing her hands, she reproached her com- 
panions with their weakness. K What!' ? cried she, " shall we, 
the daughters of warriors and followers of Mahomet, submit to 
be the slaves and paramours of barbarians and idolaters ? For 
my part, sooner will I die !" 

Among her fellow-captives were Hamzarite women, descend- 
ants, as it is supposed, of the Amalekites of old, and others of 
the tribe of Himiar, all bold viragos, accustomed from their 
youth to mount the horse, ply the bow, and launch the javelin. 
They were roused by the appeal of Caulah. " What, however, 
can we do," cried they, Ci having neither sword, nor lance, nor 
bow?" 

" Let us each take a tent pole," replied Caulah, "and defend 
ourselves to the utmost. God may deliver us ; if not, we shall 
die and be at rest, leaving no stain upon our country." She 
was seconded by a resolute woman named Offeirah. Her words 
prevailed. They all armed themselves with tent-poles, and 
Caulah placed them closely side by side in a circle. " Stand 
firm," said she. "Let no one pass between you; parry the 
weapons of your assailants, and strike at their heads." 

With Caulah, as with her brother, the word was accompa- 
nied by the deed; for scarce had she spoken, when a Greek 
soldier happening to approach, with one blow of her staff she 
shattered his skull. 

The noise brought the carousers from their tents. They 
surrounded the women and sought to pacify them; but who- 
ever came within reach of their staves was sure to suffer. 
Peter was struck with the matchless form and glowing beauty 
of Caulah, as she stood fierce and fearless, dealing her blows 
on all who approached. He charged his men not to harm her, 
and endeavoured to win her by soothing words and offers of 



28 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



wealth and honour ; but she reviled him as an infidel, a dog, 
and rejected with scorn his brutal love. Incensed at length by 
her taunts and menaces, he gave the word, and his followers 
rushed upon the women with their scimetars. The unequal 
combat would soon have ended, when Khaled and Derar came 
galloping with their cavalry to the rescue. Khaled was 
heavily armed, but Derar was almost naked, on a horse without 
a saddle, and brandishing a lance. 

At sight of them Peter's heart quaked ; he put a stop to the 
assault on the women, and would have made a merit of deliver- 
ing them ud unharmed. " We have wifes and sisters of our 
own," said he, " and respect your courageous defence. Go in 
peace to your countrymen." 

He turned his horse's head, but Caulah smote the legs of the 
animal and brought him to the ground; and Derar thrust his 
spear through the rider as he fell. Then alighting and striking 
off the head of Peter, he elevated it on the point of his lance. 
A general action ensued. The enemy were routed and pursued 
with slaughter to the gates of Damascus, and great booty was 
gained of horses and armour. 

The battle over, Paul was brought a prisoner before Khaled, 
and the gory head of his brother was shown to him. " Such," 
cried Khaled, " will be your fate unless you instantly embrace 
the faith of Islam." Paul wept over the head of his brother, 
and said he wished not to survive him. " Enough," cried Kha- 
led; the signal was given, and the head of Paul was severed from 
his body. 

The Moslem army now retired to their old camp, where they 
found Abu Obeidah, who had rallied his fugitives and intrenched 
himself, for it was uncertain how near Werdan and his army 
might be. Here the weary victors reposed themselves from 
their dangers and fatigues ; talked over the fortunes of the day, 
and exulted in the courage of their women. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The army of the prefect Werdan, though seventy thousand 
in number, was for the most part composed of newly levied 
troops. It lay encamped at Aiznadin, and ancient historians 
speak much of the splendid appearance of the imperial camp, 
rich in its sumptuous furniture of silk and gold, and of the 
brilliant array of the troops in burnished armour, with glittering 
swords and lances. 

W^hile thus encamped, Werdan was surprised one day to be- 



ABU BEKEE. 



29 



hold clouds of dust rising in different directions, from which as 
they advanced broke forth the flash of arms and din of trumpets. 
These were in fact the troops which Khaled had summoned by 
letter from various parts, and which, though widely separated, 
arrived at the appointed time with a punctuality recorded by 
the Arabian chroniclers as miraculous. 

The Moslems were at first a little daunted by the number 
and formidable array of the imperial host; but Khaled harangued 
them in a confident tone. " You behold," said he, " the last 
stake of the infidels. This army vanquished and dispersed, 
they can never muster another of any force, and all Syria is 
ours." 

The armies lay encamped in sight of each other all night, and 
drew out in battle array in the morning. 

" Who will undertake," said Khaled, " to observe the enemy 
near at hand, and bring me an account of the number and dis- 
position of his forces?" 

Derar immediately stepped forward. u Go," said Khaled. 
'•'and Allah go with thee. But I charge thee, Derar, not to 
strike a blow unprovoked, nor to expose thy life unnecessarily." 

When Werdan saw a single horseman prowling in view of his 
army and noting its strength and disposition, he sent forth 
thirty horsemen to surround and capture him. Derar re- 
treated before them until they became separated in the eager- 
ness of pursuit, then suddenly wheeling, he received the first 
upon the point of his lance, and so another and another, 
thrusting them through, or striking them from then- saddles, 
until he had killed or unhorsed seventeen, and so daunted the 
rest, that he was enabled to make his retreat in safety. 

Khaled reproached him with rashness and disobedience of 
orders. 

" I sought not the fight," replied Derar. They came forth 
against me, and I feared that God should see me turn my back. 
He doubtless aided me, and had it not been for your orders, 
I should not have desisted when I did." 

Being informed by Derar of the number and positions of the 
enemy's troops, Khaled marshalled his army accordingly. He 
gave command of the right wing to Mead and Noman; the 
left to Saad Ibn Abu Wakkas and Serjabil, and took charge of 
the centre himself, accompanied by Amru, AbdaTrahnian, 
Derar, Kais, Rafi, and other distinguished leaders. A body of 
four thousand horse, under Yezed Ebn Abu Sofian, was posted 
in the rear to guard the baggage and the women. 



30 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



But it was not the men alone that prepared for this mo- 
mentous battle. Caulah and Offeirah, and their intrepid com- 
panions, among whom were women of the highest rank, excited 
by their recent success, armed themselves with such weapons 
as they found at hand, and prepared to mingle in the fight. 
Khaled applauded their courage and devotion, assuring them 
that, if they fell, the gates of paradise would be open to 
them. He then formed them into two battalions, giving com- 
mand of one to Caulah, and of the other to Offeirah; and 
charged them, besides defending themselves against the enemy, 
to keep a strict eye upon his own troops ; and whenever they 
saw a Moslem turn his back upon the foe, to slay him as a 
recreant , and an apostate. Finally he rode through the ranks 
of his army, exhorting them all to fight with desperation, since 
they had wives, children, honour, religion, everything at stake : 
and no place of refuge should they be defeated. 

The war-cries now arose from either army; the Christians 
shouting for " Christ and for the faith;" the Moslems, "La 
I'laha ilia Allah, Mohammed Resoul Allah!" « There is but 
one God! Mahomet is the prophet of God!" 

Just before the armies engaged, a venerable man came forth 
from among the Christians, and, approaching Khaled, de- 
manded, "Art thou the general of this army?" " I am con- 
sidered such," replied Khaled, "while I am true to God, the 
Koran, and the prophet." 

" Thou art come unprovoked," said the old man, " thou and 
thy host, to invade this Christian land. Be not too certain of 
success. Others who have heretofore invaded this land, have 
found a tomb instead of a triumph. Look at this host. It is 
more numerous and perhaps better disciplined than thine. 
Why wilt thou tempt a battle which may end in thy de- 
feat, and must at all events cost thee most lamentable blood- 
shed ? Retire, then, in peace, and spare the miseries which 
must otherwise fall upon either army. Shouldst thou do so, I 
am authorised to offer, for every soldier in thy host, a suit of 
garments, a turban, and a piece of gold; for thyself a hundred 
pieces and ten silken robes, and for thy Caliph, a thousand 
pieces and a hundred robes." 

" You proffer a part," replied Khaled, scornfully, " to one 
who will soon possess the whole. For yourselves there are but 
three conditions; embrace the faith, pay tribute, or expect the 
sword." With this rough reply the venerable man returned 
sorrowfully to the Christian host. 



ABU BEKER. 



31 



Still Khaled was unusually wary. "Our enemies are two to 
one," said he; "we must have patience and outwind them. Let 
us hold back until nightfall, for that with the prophet was the 
propitious time of victory/' 

The enemy now threw their Armenian archers in the ad- 
vance, and several Moslems were killed and wounded with 
flights of arrows. Still Khaled restrained the impatience of 
his troops, ordering that no man should stir from his post. The 
impetuous Derar at length obtained permission to attack the 
insulting band of archers, and spurred vigorously upon them 
with his troop of horse. They faltered, but were reinforced : 
troops were sent to sustain Derar; many were slain on both 
sides, but success inclined to the Moslems. 

The action was on the point of becoming general, when a 
horseman from the advance army galloped up, and inquired 
for the Moslem general. Khaled, considering it a challenge, 
levelled his lance for the encounter. " Turn thy lance aside, 
I pray thee," cried the Christian, eagerly; "I am but a mes- 
senger, and seek a parley." 

Khaled quietly reined up his steed, and laid his lance 
athwart the pommel of his saddle: ' •' Speak to the purpose," 
said he, "and tell no lies." 

"I will tell the naked truth; dangerous for me to tell, but 
most important for thee to hear; but first promise protection 
for myself and family. 

Having obtained this promise, the messenger, whose name 
was David, proceeded : "I am sent by Werdan to entreat that 
the battle may cease, and the blood of brave men be spared; 
and that thou wilt meet him to-morrow morning, singly, in 
sight of either army, to treat of terms of peace. Such is my 
message; but beware, O Khaled! for treason lurks beneath it. 
Ten chosen men, well armed, will be stationed in the night close 
by the place of conference, to surprise and seize, or kill thee, 
when defenceless, and off thy guard." 

He then proceeded to mention the place appointed for the 
conference, and all the other particulars. "Enough," said 
Khaled. "'Return to Werdan, and tell him I agree to meet 
him." 

The Moslems were astonished at hearing a retreat sounded, 
when the conflict was inclining in their favour; thev withdrew 
reluctantly from the field, and Abu Obeidah and Derar de- 
manded of Khaled the meaning of this conduct. He informed 



32 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAH03IET. 



them of what had just been revealed to him. " I will keep this 
appointment," said he. "I will go singly, and will bring back 
the heads of all the assassins." Abu Obeidah, however, remon- 
strated against his exposing himself to such unnecessary danger. 
"Take ten men with thee," said he, "'man for man." "Why 
defer the punishment of their perfidy until morning?" cried 
Derar. " Give me the ten men, and I will counterplot these 
lurkers this very night." 

Having obtained permission, he picked out ten men of as- 
sured coolness and courage, and set off with them in the dead 
of the night for the place of ambush. As they drew near, 
Derar caused his companions to halt, and, putting off his 
clothes to prevent all rustling noise, crept warily with his 
naked scimetar to the appointed ground. Here he beheld the 
ten men fast asleep, with their weapons beneath their heads. 
Returning silently, and beckoning his companions, they singled 
out each his man, so that the whole were despatched at a blow. 
They then stripped the dead, disguised themselves in their 
clothes, and awaited the coming day. 

The rising sun shone on the two armies, drawn out in battle 
array, and awaiting the parley of the chiefs. Werdan rode 
forth on a white mule, and was arrayed in rich attire, with 
chains of gold and precious stones. Khaled was clad in a 
yellow silk vest and green turban. He suffered himself to be 
drawn by Werdan towards the place of ambush; then, alight- 
ing, and seating themselves on the ground, they entered into a 
parley. Their conference was brief and boisterous. Each 
considered the other in his power, and conducted himself with 
haughtiness and acrimony. W T erdan spoke of the Moslems 
as needy spoilers, who lived by the sword, and invaded the fer- 
tile territories of their neighbours in quest of plunder. " We, 
on the other hand," said he, " are wealthy, and desire peace. 
Speak, what do you require to relieve your wants and satisfy 
your rapacity?" 

" Miserable infidel !" replied Khaled. u We are not so poor 
as to accept alms at your hands. Allah provides for us. You 
offer us a part of what is all our own ; for Allah has put all 
that you have into our hands ; even to your wives and chil- 
dren. But do you desire peace ? We have already told you 
our conditions. Either acknowledge that there is no other 
God but God, and that Mahomet is his prophet, or pay us 
such tribute as we may impose. Do you refuse ? For what, 



ABU BEKEE. 



33 



then,, have you brought me here? You knew our terms yester- 
day, and that all your propositions were rejected. Do you 
entice me here alone for single combat ? Be it so, and let our 
weapons decide between us." 

So saying, he sprang upon his feet. Werdan also rose, 
but, expecting instant aid, neglected to draw his sword. 
Khaled seized him by the throat, upon which he called loudly 
to his men in ambush. The Moslems in ambush rushed forth, 
and, deceived by their Grecian dresses, Werdan for an instant 
thought himself secure. As they drew near, he discovered his 
mistake, and shrank with horror at the sight of Derar, who 
advanced, almost naked, brandishing a scimetar, and in whom 
he recognised the slayer of his son. " Mercy ! — mercy !" cried 
he to Khaled, at finding himself caught in his own snare. 

cfi There is no mercy," replied Khaled, " for him who has no 
faith. You came to me with peace on your lips, but murder 
in your heart. Your crime be upon your head." 

The sentence was no sooner pronounced than the powerful 
sword of Derar performed its office, and the head of Werdan 
was struck off at a blow. The gory trophy was elevated on 
the point of a lance, and borne by the little band toward the 
Christian troops, who, deceived by the Greek disguises, sup- 
posed it the head of Khaled, and shouted; with joy. Their 
triumph was soon turned to dismay as they discovered their 
error. Khaled did not suffer them to recover from their con- 
fusion, but bade his trumpets sound a general charge. What 
ensued was a massacre rather than a battle. The imperial 
army broke and fled in all directions ; some toward Ccesarea, 
others to Damascus, and others to Antioch. The booty was 
immense ; crosses of silver and gold, adorned with precious 
stones, rich chains and bracelets, jewels of price, silken robes, 
armour, and weapons of all kinds, and numerous banners, all 
which Khaled declared should not be divided until after the 
capture of Damascus. 

Tidings of this great victory was sent to the Caliph at 
Medina, by his brave and well-beloved son Abda'lrahman. On 
receiving it, Abu Beker prostrated himself and returned thanks 
to God. The news spread rapidly throughout Arabia. Hosts 
of adventurers hurried to Medina from all parts, and especially 
from Mecca. All were eager to serve in the cause of the 
faith, now that they found it crowned with conquest and re- 
warded with riches. 

D 



34 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



The worthy Abu Beker was disposed to gratify their wishes, 
but Omar, on being consulted, strongly objected. " The 
greater part of these fellows." said he, "who are so eager 
to join us now that we are successful, are those who sought to 
crush us when we were few and feeble. They care not for the 
faith, but they long to ravage the rich fields of Syria, and 
share the plunder of Damascus. Send them not to the army 
to make brawls and dissensions. Those already there are 
sufficient to complete what they have begun. They have won 
the victory ; let them enjoy the spoils.'' 

In compliance with this advice, Abu Beker refused the 
prayer of the applicants. Upon this the people of Mecca, and 
especially those of the tribe of Koreish, sent a powerful depu- 
tation, headed by Abu Sofian, to remonstrate with the Caliph. 
" Why are we denied permission,' ' said they, " to fight in the 
cause of our religion? It is true, that in the days of darkness 
and ignorance we made war on the disciples of the prophet, 
because we thought we were doing God service. Allah, how- 
ever, has blessed us with the light ; we have seen and renounced 
our former errors. We are your brethren in the faith, as we 
have ever been your kindred in blood, and hereby take upon 
ourselves to fight in the common cause. Let there, then, no 
longer be jealousy and envy between us." 

The heart of the Caliph was moved by these remonstrances. 
He consulted with Ali and Omar, and it was agreed that the 
tribe of Koreish should be permitted to join the army. Abu 
Beker accordingly wrote to Khaled, congratulating him on his 
success, and informing him that a large reinforcement would 
join hirn conducted by Abu Sofian. This letter he sealed 
with the seal of the prophet, and despatched it by his son 
Abda'lrahman. 

CHAPTER IX. 

The fugitives from the field of Aiznadin carried to Damascus 
the dismal tidings that the army was overthrown, and the last 
hope of succour destroyed. Great was the consternation of the 
inhabitants; yet they set to work, with desperate activity, to 
prepare for the coming storm. The fugitives had reinforced 
the garrison with several thousand effective men. Xew fortiG- 
cations were hastily erected. The walls were lined with engines 
to discharge stones and darts, which were managed by Jews 
skilled in their use. 

In the midst of their preparation, they beheld squadron after 



ABU BEKER. 



35 



squadron of Moslem cavalry emerging from among distant 
groves, while a lengthening line of foot soldiers poured along 
between the gardens. This was the order of march of the 
Moslem host. The advance guard, of upwards of nine thou- 
sand horsemen, was led by Amru. Then came two thousand 
Koreishite horse, led by Abu Sonan. Then a like number 
mder Serjabil. Then Omar Ibn Rabiyah with a similar divi- 

n ; then the main body of the army led by Abu Obeidah ; 
lastly the rear-guard, displaying the black eagle, the fateful 
banner of Khaled, and led by that invincible warrior. 

Khaled now assembled his captains, and assigned to them 
their different stations. Abu Sofian was posted opposite the 
southern gate : Serjabil opposite that of St. Thomas ; Amru 
before that of Paradise; and Kais Ibn Hobeirah before that of 
Kaisan. Abu Obeidah encamped at some distance, in front of 
the gate of Jabiyah, and was charged to be strict and vigilant, 
and to make frequent assaults, for Khaled knew his humane and 
easy nature. As to Khaled himself, he took his station and 
planted his black eagle before the eastern gate. 

There was still a southern gate, that of St. Mark, so situated 
that it was not practicable to establish posts or engage in skir- 
mishes before it; it w r as, therefore, termed the Gate of Peace. 
As to the active and impetuous Derar, he was ordered to patrol 
round the walls and scour the adjacent plain at the head of two 
thousand horse, protecting the camp from surprise, and prevent- 
ing supplies and reinforcements to the city. " If you should be 
attacked," said Khaled, " send me word, and I w T ill come to your 
assistance.'' " And must I stand peaceably until you arrive?'' 
said Derar, in recollection of former reproofs of his rash contests. 
" Not so," rejoined Khaled; "but fight stoutly, and be assured 
I will not fail you." The rest of the army were dismounted to 
carry on the siege on foot. 

The Moslems were now better equipped for war than ever, 
having supplied themselves with armour and weapons taken in 
repeated battles. As yet, however, they retained their Arab 
frugality and plainness, neglecting the delicate viands, the 
sumptuous raiment, and other luxurious indulgences of their 
enemies. Even Abu Obeidah, in the humility of his spirit, 
contented himself with his primitive Arab tent of camels hair, 
refusing the sumptuous tents of the Christian commanders, won 
in the recent battle. Such were the stern and simple-minded 
invaders of the effeminate and sensual nations of the East. 

d2 



36 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



The first assaults of the Moslems were bravely repelled, and 
many were slain by darts and stones hurled by the machines 
from the wall. The garrison even ventured to make a sally, 
but were driven back with signal slaughter. The siege was 
then pressed with unremitting rigour, until no one dared to 
venture beyond the bulwarks. The principal inhabitants now 
consulted together whether it were not best to capitulate while 
there was yet a chance of obtaining favourable terms. 

There was at this time living in Damascus a noble Greek, 
named Thomas, who was married to a daughter of the Emperor 
Heraclius. He held no post, but was greatly respected, for he 
was a man of talents and consummate courage. In this mo- 
ment of general depression, he endeavoured to rouse the spirits 
of the people, representing their invaders as despicable, bar- 
barous, naked, and poorly armed, without discipline or military 
service, and formidable only through their mad fanaticism, and 
the panic they had spread through the country. 

Finding all arguments in vain, he offered to take the lead 
himself, if they would venture upon another sally. His offer 
was accepted, and the next morning appointed for the effort. 

Khaled perceived a stir of preparation throughout the night, 
lights gleaming in the turrets and along the battlements, and 
exhorted his men to be vigilant, for he anticipated some despe- 
rate movement. "Let no man sleep," said he. " We shall 
have rest enough after death, and sweet will be the repose that 
is never more to be followed by labour." 

The Christians were sadly devout in this hour of extremity. 
At early dawn the bishop, in his robes, proceeded at the head 
of the clergy to the gate by which the sally was to be made; 
where he elevated the cross, and laid beside it the New Testa- 
ment. As Thomas passed out at the gate, he laid his hand 
upon the sacred volume. " Oh God !" exclaimed he, " if our 
faith be true, aid us, and deliver us not into the hands of its 
enemies." 

The Moslems, who had been on the alert, were advancing to 
attack just at the time of the sally, but were checked by a 
general discharge from the engines on the wall. Thomas led 
his troops bravely to the encounter, and the conflict was fierce 
and bloody. He was a dexterous archer, and singled out the 
most conspicuous of the Moslems, who fell one after another 
beneath his shafts. Among others he wounded Aban Ibn Zeid 
with an arrow tipped with poison. The latter bound up the 



ARU BEKER. 



37 



wound with his turban, and continued in the field, but being 
overcome by the venom, was conveyed to the camp. He had 
but recently been married to a beautiful woman of the intrepid 
race of the H'imiar; one of those Amazons accustomed to use 
the bow and arrow, and to mingle in warfare. 

Hearing that her husband was wounded, she hastened to his 
tent, but before she could reach it he had expired. She uttered 
no lamentation, nor shed a tear, but, bending over the body, 
" Happy art thou, oh, my beloved," said she, " for thou art with 
Allah, who joined us but to part us from each other. But I 
will avenge thy death, and then seek to join thee in paradise. 
Henceforth shall no man touch me more, for I dedicate myself 
to God!" 

Then grasping her husband's bow and arrows, she hastened 
to the field in quest of Thomas, who, she had been told, was 
the slayer of her husband. Pressing toward the place where 
he was fighting, she let fly a shaft, which wounded his stand- 
ard-bearer in the hand. The standard fell, and was borne off 
by the Moslems. Thomas pursued it, laying about him furi- 
ously, and calling upon his men to rescue their banner. It was 
shifted from hand to hand until it came into that of Serjabil. 
Thomas assailed him with his scimetar : Serjabil threw the 
standard among his troops and closed with him. They fought 
with equal ardour, but Thomas was gaining the advantage, 
when an arrow, shot by the wife of Aban, smote him in the eye. 
He staggered with the wound, but his men, abandoning the 
contested standard, rushed to his support, and bore him off to 
the city. He refused to retire to his home, and, his wound 
being dressed on the ramparts, would have returned to the con- 
flict, but was overruled by the public. He took his station, 
however, at the city gate, whence he could survey the field 
and issue his orders. The battle continued with great fury ; 
but such showers of stones and darts and other missiles were 
discharged by the Jews from the engines on the walls, that the 
besiegers were kept at a distance. Night terminated the conflict. 
The Moslems returned to their camp wearied with a long day's 
fighting ; and throwing themselves on the earth, were soon 
buried in profound sleep. 

Thomas, finding the courage of the garrison roused by the 
stand they had that day made, resolved to put it to further 
proof. At his suggestion, preparations were made in the dead 
of the night for a general sally at daybreak from all the gates 



38 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAH03IET. 



of the city. At the signal of a single stroke upon a bell at the 
first peep of dawn, all the gates were thrown open, and from 
each rushed forth a torrent of warriors upon the nearest en- 
campment. 

So silently had the preparations been made, that the be- 
siegers were completely taken by surprise. The trumpets 
sounded alarms, the 3Ioslems started from sleep and snatched 
up then- weapons, but the enemy were already upon them, and 
struck them down before they had recovered from their amaze- 
ment. For a time, it was a slaughter rather than a fight, at 
the various stations. Khaled is said to have shed tears at be- 
holding the carnage. w Oh thou, who never sleepest!" cried 
he, in the agony of his heart, " aid thy faithful servants; let 
them not fall beneath the weapons of these infidels."' Then, 
followed by four hundred horsemen, he spurred about the field 
wherever relief was most needed. 

The hottest of the fight was opposite the gate whence 
Thomas had sallied. Here Serjabil had his station, and fought 
with undaunted valour. Xear him was the intrepid wife of 
AMn, doing deadly execution with her shafts. She had ex- 
pended all but one, when a Greek soldier attempted to seize 
her. In an instant the arrow was sped through his throat, and 
laid him dead at her feet; but she was now weaponless, and 
was taken prisoner. 

At the same time Serjabil and Thomas were again engaged 
hand to hand with equal valour ; but the scimetar of Serjabil 
broke on the buckler of his adversary, and he was on the point 
of being slain or captured, when Khaled and Abda'lrahman 
galloped up with a troop of horse. Thomas was obliged to 
take refuge in the city, and Serjabil and the Amazonian widow 
were rescued. 

The troops who sallied out at the gate of Jabiyah met with 
the severest treatment. The meek Abu Obeidah was stationed 
in front of that gate, and w r as slumbering quietly in his hair 
tent at the time of the sally. His first care in the moment of 
alarm was to repeat the morning prayer. He then ordered 
forth a body of chosen men to keep the enemy at bay, and 
while they were fighting, led another detachment, silently but 
rapidly, round between the combatants and the city. The 
Greeks thus suddenly found themselves assailed in front and 
rear : they fought desperately ; but so successful was the strata- 
gem, and so active the valour of the meek Abu Obeidah, when 



ABU BEKER. 



39 



once aroused, that never a man, says the Arabian historian, 
that sallied from that gate, returned again. 

The battle of the night was almost as sanguinary as that of 
the day; the Christians were repulsed in all quarters, and 
driven once more within their walls, leaving several thousand 
dead upon the field. The Moslems followed them to the very 
gates, but were compelled to retire by the deadly shower hurled 
by the Jews from the engines on the walls. 

CHAPTER X. 

For seventy days had Damascus been besieged by the fanatic 
legions of the desert : the inhabitants had no longer the heart 
to make further sallies, but again began to talk of capitulating. 
It was in vain that Thomas urged them to have patience until 
he should write to the emperor for succour; they listened only 
to their fears, and sent to Khaled begging a truce, that they 
might have time to treat of a surrender. That fierce warrior 
turned a deaf ear to their prayer : he wished, for no surrender 
that would protect the lives and property of the besieged ; he 
was bent upon taking the city by the sword, and giving it up 
to be plundered, by his Arabs. 

In their extremity the people of Damascus turned to the 
good Abu Obeidah, whom they knew to be meek and humane. 
Having first treated with him by a messenger who understood 
Arabic, and received his promise of security, a hundred of the 
principal inhabitants, including the most venerable of the 
clergy, issued privately one night by the gate of Jabiyah, and 
sought his presence. They found this leader of a mighty force, 
that was shaking the empire of the Orient, living in an humble 
tent of hair-cloth, like a mere wanderer of the desert. He 
listened favourably to their propositions, for his object was con- 
version rather than conquest ; tribute rather than plunder. A 
covenant was soon written, in which he engaged that hostilities 
should cease on their delivering the city into his hands ; that 
such of the inhabitants as pleased might depart in safety with 
as much of their effects as they could carry, and those who 
remained as tributaries should retain then property, and have 
seven churches allotted to them. This covenant was not 
signed by Abu Obeidah, not being commander-in-chief, but he 
assured the envoys it would be held sacred by the Moslems, 

The capitulation being arranged, and hostages given for the 
good faith of the besieged, the gate opposite to the encamp- 



40 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



ment of Abu Obeidah was thrown open, and the venerable 
chief entered at the head of a hundred men to take possession. 

While these transactions were taking place at the gate of 
Jabiyah, a different scene occurred at the eastern gate. Kha- 
led was exasperated by the death of a brother of Amru, shot 
from the walls with a poisoned arrow. In the height of his 
indignation, an apostate priest, named Josias, undertook to 
deliver the gate into his hands, on condition of security of 
person and property for himself and his relatives. 

By means of this traitor, a hundred Arabs were secretly 
introduced within the walls, who, rushing to the eastern g*ate, 
broke the bolts and bars and chains by which it was fastened, 
and threw it open with the signal shout of Allah Achbar ! 

Khaled and his legions poured in at the gate with sound 
of trumpet and tramp of steed ; putting all to the sword, and 
deluging the streets with blood. "Mercy! Mercy!" was the 
cry. " No mercy for infidels !" was Khaled's fierce response. 

He pursued his career of carnage into the great square be- 
fore the church of the Virgin Mary. Here, to his astonish- 
ment, he beheld Abu Obeidah and his attendants, their swords 
sheathed, and inarching in solemn procession with priests and 
monks and the principal inhabitants, and surrounded by women 
and children. 

Abu Obeidah saw fury and surprise in the looks of Khaled, 
and hastened to propitiate him by gentle words. u Allah, in 
his mercy," said he, " has delivered this city into my hands by 
peaceful surrender ; sparing the effusion of blood and the ne- 
cessity of fighting." 

" Not so," cried Khaled, in a fury. " I have won it with 
this sword, and I grant no quarter." 

" But I have given the inhabitants a covenant written with 
my own hand." 

" And what right had you/' demanded Khaled, " to grant 
a capitulation without consulting me ? Am not I the general ? 
Yes, by Allah ! and to prove it I will put every inhabitant to 
the sword." 

Abu Obeidah felt that in point of military duty he had erred, 
but he sought to pacify Khaled, assuring him he had intended 
all for the best, and felt sure of his approbation ; entreating him 
to respect the covenant he had made in the name of God and 
the prophet, and with the approbation of all the Moslems present 
at the transaction. 



AEU BEKER 



41 



Several of the Moslem officers seconded Abu Obeidah, and 
endeavoured to persuade Khaled to agree to the capitulation. 
While he hesitated, his troops, impatient of delay, resumed the 
work of massacre and pillage. 

The patience of the good Abu Obeidah was at an end. "By 
Allah!" cried he, " my word is treated as nought, and my 
covenant is trampled under foot !" 

Spurring his horse among the marauders, he commanded 
them, in the name of the prophet, to desist until he and Kha- 
led should have time to settle their dispute. The name of the 
prophet had its effect; the soldiery paused in their bloody ca- 
reer, and the two generals with their officers retired to the 
church of the Virgin. 

Here, after a sharp altercation, Khaled, callous to all claims of 
justice and mercy, was brought to listen to policy. It was re- 
presented to him that he was invading a country where many 
cities were yet to be taken; that it was important to respect the 
capitulations of his generals, even though they might not be 
altogether to his mind; otherwise the Moslem word would cease 
to be trusted, and other cities, w r arned by the fate of Damascus, 
instead of surrendering on favourable terms, might turn a deaf 
ear to all offers of mercy, and fight to the last extremity. 

It was with the utmost difficulty that Abu Obeidah wrung 
from the iron soul of Khaled a slow consent to his capitulation, 
on condition that the whole matter should be referred to the 
Caliph. At every article he paused and murmured. He would 
fain have inflicted death upon Thomas, and another leader 
named Herbis, but Abu Obeidah insisted that they were ex- 
pressly included in the covenant. 

Proclamation was then made that such of the inhabitants as 
chose to remain tributaries to the Caliph should enjoy the ex- 
ercise of their religion ; the rest were permitted to depart. The 
greater part preferred to remain; but some determined to follow 
their champion Thomas to Antioch. The latter prayed for a 
passport or a safe-conduct through the country controlled by 
the Moslems. After much difficulty, Khaled granted them 
three days' grace, during which they should be safe from moles- 
tation or pursuit ; on condition they took nothing with them 
but provisions. 

Here the worthy Abu Obeidah interfered, declaring that he 
had covenanted to let them go forth wdth bag and baggage. 
"Then," said Khaled, " they shall go unarmed.'' Again Abu 



42 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



Obeidah interfered, and Khaled at length consented that they 
should have arms sufficient to defend themselves against robbers 
and wild beasts; he, however, who had a lance should have no 
sword; and he who had a bow should have no lance. 

Thomas and Herbis, who were to conduct this unhappy 
caravan, pitched their tents in the meadow adjacent to the city, 
whither all repaired who w r ere to follow them into exile: each 
laden with plate, jewels, silken stuffs, and whatever was most 
precious and least burdensome. Among other things was a 
wardrobe of the Emperor Heraclius, in which there were above 
three hundred loads of costly silks and cloth of gold. 

All being assembled, the sad multitude set forth on their way- 
faring. Those w r ho from pride, from patriotism, or from religion, 
thus doomed themselves to poverty and exile, were among the 
noblest and most highly bred of the land; people accustomed to 
soft and luxurious life, and to the silken abodes of palaces. Of 
this number was the wife of Thomas, a daughter of the Emperor 
Heraclius, who w r as attended by her maidens. It was a piteous 
sight to behold aged men, delicate and shrinking women, and 
helpless children, thus setting forth on a wandering journey 
through wastes and deserts, and rugged mountains, infested by 
savage hordes. Many a time did they turn to cast a look of 
fondness and despair on those sumptuous palaces and delightful 
gardens, once their pride and joy; and still would they turn and 
weep, and beat their breasts, and gaze through their tears on 
the stately towers of Damascus, and the flowery banks of the 
Pharpar. 

Thus terminated the hard-contested siege of Damascus, wmich 
Voltaire has likened for its stratagems, skirmishes, and single 
combats, to Homer's siege of Troy. More than twelve months 
elapsed between the time the Saracens first pitched their tents 
before it and the day of its surrender. 

CHAPTER XI. 

It is recorded that Derar gnashed his teeth with rage at see- 
ing the multitude of exiles departing in peace, laden with trea- 
sures, which he considered as so much hard-earned spoil, lost to 
the faithful ; but what most incensed him was, that so many 
unbelievers should escape the edge of the scimetar. Khaled 
would have been equally indignant, but that he had secretly 
covenanted with himself to regain this booty. For this purpose 
he ordered his men to refresh themselves and their horses, and 



ABU BEKEE. 



43 



be in readiness for action, resolving to pursue the exiles when 
the three days of grace should have expired. 

A dispute with Abu Obeidah concerning a quantity of grain, 
which the latter claimed for the citizens, detained him one day 
longer, and he was about to abandon the pursuit as hopeless, 
when a guide presented himself who knew all the country, and 
the shortest passes through the mountains. The story of this 
guide is worthy of notice, as illustrating the character of these 
people and these wars. 

During the siege, Derar, as has been related, was appointed 
to patrol roimd the city and the camp, with two thousand horse. 
As a party of these were one night going their rounds, near the 
walls, they heard the distant neighing of a horse, and looking 
narrowly round, descried a horseman coming stealthily from the 
gate Keisan. Halting in a shadowy place, they waited until 
he came close to them, when, rushing forth, they made him 
prisoner. He was a youthful Syrian, richly and gallantly ar- 
rayed, and apparently a person of distinction. Scarcely had 
they seized him when they beheld another horseman issuing 
from the same gate, who in a soft voice called upon their cap- 
tive by the name of Jonas. They commanded the latter to 
invite his companion to advance. He seemed to reply, and 
called out something in Greek, upon hearing which the other 
turned bridle, and galloped back into the city. . The Arabs, 
ignorant of Greek, and suspecting the words to be a warning, 
would have slain their prisoner on the spot ; but, upon second 
thoughts, conducted him to Khaled. 

The youth avowed himself a nobleman of Damascus, and 
betrothed to a beautiful maiden named Eudocea ; but her 
parents, from some capricious reason, had withdrawn their con- 
sent to his nuptials ; whereupon the lovers had secretly agreed 
to fly from Damascus. A sum of gold had bribed the sentinels 
who kept watch that night at the gate. The damsel, disguised 
in male attire, and accompanied by two domestics, was following 
her lover at a distance, as he sallied in advance. His reply in 
Greek, when she called upon him, was, " The bird is caught !" 
a warning at the hearing of which she had fled back to the city. 

Khaled was not the man to be moved by a love tale, but he 
gave the prisoner his alternative. u Embrace the faith of 
Islam," said he, "and when Damascus falls into our power, you 
shall have your betrothed ; refuse, and your head is forfeit." 



44 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



The youth paused not between a scimetar and a bride. He 
made immediate profession of faith between the hands of Khaled, 
and thenceforth fought zealously for the capture of the city, 
since its downfall was to crown his hopes. 

When Damascus yielded to its foes, he sought the dwelling 
of Eudocea, and learnt a new proof of her affection. Sup- 
posing, on his capture by the Arabs, that he had fallen a martyr 
to his faith, she had renounced the w r orld, and shut herself up 
in a convent. With throbbing heart he hastened to the con- 
vent, but when the lofty-minded maiden beheld in him a rene- 
gade, she turned from him w r ith scorn, retired to her cell, and 
refused to see him more. She was among the noble ladies who 
followed Thomas and Herbis into exile. Her lover, frantic at 
the thoughts of losing her, reminded Khaled of his promise to 
restore her to him, and entreated that she might be detained ; 
but Khaled pleaded the covenant of Abu Obeidah, according to 
which all had free leave to depart. 

When Jonas afterwards discovered that Khaled meditated 
a pursuit of the exiles, but was discouraged by the lapse of time, 
he offered to conduct him by short and secret passes through 
the mountains, wmich would insure his overtaking them. His 
offer was accepted. On the fourth day after the departure of 
the exiles, Khaled set out in pursuit, with four thousand chosen 
horsemen, who, by the advice of Jonas, were disguised as 
Christian Arabs. For some time they traced the exiles along 
the plains by the numerous footprints of mules and camels, and 
by articles thrown away to enable them to travel more expedi- 
tiously. At length the footprints turned toward the moun- 
tains of Lebanon, and were lost in their arid and rocky defiles. 
The Moslems began to falter. " Courage !" cried Jonas; "they 
will be entangled among the mountains. They cannot now 
escape." 

They continued their weary course, stopping only at the 
stated hours of prayer. They had now to climb the high and 
cragged passes of Lebanon, along rifts and glens worn by winter 
torrents. The horses struck fire at every tramp ; they cast 
their shoes, their hoofs w r ere battered on the rocks, and many 
of them were lamed and disabled. The horsemen dismounted, 
and scrambled up on foot, leading their weary and crippled 
steeds. Their clothes were worn to shreds, and the soles of 
their iron-shod boots were torn from the upper leathers. The 



ABU BEKER. 



45 



men murmured and repined ; never in all their marches had 
they experienced such hardships. They insisted on halting, to 
rest and to bait their horses. Even Khaled, whose hatred of 
infidels furnished an impulse almost equal to the lover's passion, 
began to flag, and reproached the renegade as the cause of all 
this trouble. 

Jonas still urged them forward: he pointed to fresh foot- 
prints and tracks of horses that must have recently passed. 
After a few hours' refreshment they resumed the pursuit ; pass- 
ing within sight of Jabalah and Laodicea, but without venturing 
within their gates, lest the disguise of Christian Arabs, which 
deceived the simple peasantry, might not avail with the 
shrewder inhabitants of the towns. 

Intelligence received from a country boor increased their per- 
plexity. The Emperor Heraclius, fearing that the arrival of the 
exiles might cause a panic at Antioch, had sent orders for them 
to proceed along the sea-coast to Constantinople. This gave 
their pursuers a greater chance to overtake them; but Khaled 
was startled at learning, in addition, that troops were assembling 
to be sent against him, and that but a single mountain separated 
him from them. He now feared they might intercept his re- 
turn, or fall upon Damascus in his absence. A sinister dream 
added to his uneasiness, but it was favourably interpreted by 
Abda'lrahman, and he continued the pursuit. 

A tempestuous night closed on them: the rain fell in torrents, 
and man and beast was ready to sink with fatigue: still they 
were urged forward: the fugitives could not be far distant, the 
enemy was at hand: they must snatch their prey and retreat. 
The morning dawned ; the storm cleared up, and the sun shone 
brightly on the surrounding heights. They dragged their steps 
wearily, how r ever, along the defiles, now swept by torrents or 
filled with mire, until the scouts in the advance gave joyful 
signal from the mountain brow. It commanded a grassy 
meadow, sprinkled with flowers, and watered by a running 
stream. 

On the borders of the rivulet was the caravan of exiles, 
reposing in the sunshine from the fatigues of the recent storm. 
Some were sleeping on the grass, others were taking their 
morning repast; while the meadow was gay with embroidered 
robes and silks of various dyes spread out to dry upon the 
herbage. The weary Moslems, worn out with the horrors of 
the mountains, gazed with delight on the sweetness and fresh- 



46 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



ness of the meadow; but Khaled eyed the caravan with an eager 
eye, and the lover only stretched his gaze to catch a glimpse 
of his betrothed among the females reclining on the margin of 
the stream. 

Having cautiously reconnoitered the caravan without being 
perceived, Khaled disposed of his band in four squadrons; the 
first commanded by Derar, the second by Rafi Ibn Omeirah, 
the third by Abda'lrahman, and the fourth led by himself. He 
gave orders that the squadrons should make their appearance 
successively, one at a time, to deceive the enemy as to their 
force, and that there should be no pillaging until the victory 
was complete. 

Having offered up a prayer, he gave the word to his divi- 
sion, " In the name of Allah and the prophet!" and led to the 
attack. The Christians were roused from their repose on be- 
holding a squadron rushing down from the mountain. They 
were deceived at first by the Greek dresses, but were soon 
aware of the truth; though the small number of the enemy 
gave them but little dread. Thomas hastily marshalled five 
thousand men to receive the shock of the onset, with such 
weapons as had been left them. Another and another division 
came hurrying down from the mountain; and the fight was 
furious and well contested. Thomas and Khaled fought hand 
to hand; but the Christian champion was struck to the ground. 
Abda'lrahman cut off his head, elevated it on the spear of the 
standard of the cross which he had taken at Damascus, and 
called upon the Christians to behold the head of their leader. 

Rafi Ibn Omeirah penetrated with his division into the 
midst of the encampment to capture the women. They stood 
courageously on the defensive, hurling stones at their assail- 
ants. Among them was a female of matchless beauty, dressed 
in splendid attire, with a diadem of jewels. It was the re- 
puted daughter of the emperor, the wife of Thomas. Rafi 
attempted to seize her, but she hurled a stone that struck his 
horse in the head and killed him. The Arab drew his scime- 
tar, and would have slain her, but she cried for mercy, so he 
took her prisoner, and gave her in charge to a trusty follower. 

In the midst of the carnage and confusion, Jonas hastened 
in search of his betrothed. If she had treated him with dis- 
dain as a renegade, she now regarded him with horror as the 
traitor who had brought this destruction upon his unhappy 
countrymen. All his entreaties for her to forgive and be re- 



ABU BEKER. 



47 



conciled to him, were of no avail. She solemnly vowed to 
repair to Constantinople and end her days in a convent. Find- 
ing supplication fruitless, he seized her, and after a violent 
struggle, threw her on the ground and made her prisoner. 
She made no further resistance, but submitting to captivity, 
seated herself quietly on the grass. The lover nattered himself 
that she relented; but, watching her opportunity, she sud- 
denly drew forth a poniard, plunged it in her breast, and fell 
dead at his feet. 

While this tragedy was performing, the general battle, or 
rather carnage, continued. Khaled ranged the field in quest of 
Herbis, but while fighting pell-mell among a throng of Chris- 
tians, that commander came behind him and dealt a blow that 
severed his helmet, and would have cleft his skull but for the 
folds of his turban. The sword of Herbis fell from his hand 
with the violence of the blow, and before he could recover it, he 
was cut in pieces by the followers of Khaled. The struggle of 
the unhappy Christians was at an end: all were slain, or taken 
prisoners, except one, who was permitted to depart, and who 
bore the dismal tidings of the massacre to Constantinople. 

The renegade Jonas was loud in his lamentations for the loss 
of his betrothed, but his Moslem comrades consoled him with 
one of the doctrines of the faith he had newly embraced. " It 
was written in the book of fate," said they, " that you should 
never possess that woman ; but be comforted, Allah has doubt- 
less greater blessings in store for you;" and, in fact. Ran Ibn 
Omeirah, out of compassion for his distress, presented him with 
the beautiful princess he had taken captive. Khaled consented 
to the gift provided the emperor did not send to ransom her. 

There was now no time to be lost. In this headlong pur- 
suit they had penetrated above a hundred and fifty miles into 
the heart of the enemy's country, and might be cut oft in their 
retreat. " To horse and away," therefore, was the word. The 
plunder was hastily packed upon the mules, the scanty number 
of surviving exiles were secured, and the marauding band set 
off on a forced march for Damascus. While on their way thev 
were one day alarmed by a cloud of dust, through which their 
scouts descried the banner of the cross. They prepared for a 
desperate conflict. It proved, however, a peaceful mission. 
An ancient bishop, followed by a numerous train, sought from 
Khaled, in the emperor's name, the liberation of his daughter. 
The haughty Saracen released her without ransom. " Take 



48 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



her," said he ; " but tell your master I intend to have him in 
exchange ; never will I cease this war until I have wrested 
from him every foot of territory." 

To indemnify the renegade for this second deprivation, a 
large sum of gold was given him, wherewith to buy a wife from 
among the captives ; but he now disclaimed for ever all earthly 
love, and, like a devout Mahometan, looked forward for con- 
solation among the black-eyed Houris of paradise. He con- 
tinued more faithful to his new faith and new companions than 
he had been to the religion of his fathers and the friends of his 
infancy ; and after serving the Saracens 'in a variety of ways, 
earned an undoubted admission to the paradise of the prophet, 
being shot through the breast at the battle of Yermouk. 

Thus perished this apostate, says the Christian chronicler; 
but Alwakedi, the venerable Cadi of Bagdad, adds a supplement 
to the story, for the encouragement of all proselytes to the 
Islam faith. He states that Jonas, after his death, was seen in 
a vision by Rafi Ibn Omeirah, arrayed in rich robes and golden 
sandals, and walking in a flowery mead ; and the beatified 
renegade assured him that, for his exemplary services, Allah 
had given him seventy of the black-eyed damsels of paradise, 
each of resplendent beauty, sufficient to throw the sun and 
moon in the shade. Rafi related his vision to Khaled, who 
heard it with implicit faith. " This it is," said that Moslem 
zealot, "to die a martyr to the faith. Happy the man to 
whose lot it falls !"* 

Khaled succeeded in leading his adventurous band safely 
back to Damascus, where they were joyfully received by their 
companions in arms, who had entertained great fears for their 
safety. He now divided the rich spoils taken in his expedition ; 
four parts were given to the officers and soldiers, a fifth he re- 
served for the public treasury, and sent it off to the Caliph, 
with letters informing him of the capture of Damascus ; of his 
disputes with Abu Obeidah as to the treatment of the city and 
its inhabitants, and lastly of his expedition in pursuit of the 
exiles, and his recovery of the wealth they were bearing away. 
These missives were sent in the confident expectation that his 
policy of the sword would far outshine, in the estimation of 

* The story of Jonas and Eudocea has been made the subject of an 
* English tragedy by Hughes, entitled "The Siege of Damascus;" but 
the lover's name is changed to Phocyas, the incidents are altered, and 
the catastrophe is made entirely different. 



ABU BEKER. 



49 



the Caliph, and of all true Moslems, the more peaceful policy 
of Abu Obeidah. 

It was written in the book of fate, say the Arabian histo- 
rians, that the pious Abu Beker should die without hearing of 
the brightest triumph of the Islam faith ; the very day that 
Damascus surrendered, the Caliph breathed his last at Medina. 
Arabian authors differ as to the cause of his death. Abulfeda 
asserts that he was poisoned by the Jews, in his frugal repast of 
rice ; but his daughter Ayesha, with more probability, ascribes 
his death to bathing on an unusually cold day. which threw 
him into a fever. While struggling with his malady, he directed 
his cbosen friend Omar to perform the religious functions of 
his office in his stead. 

Feeling his end approaching, he summoned his secretary, 
Othman Ibn Affan, and in presence of several of the principal 
Moslems, dictated as follows : "I, Abu Beker Ibn x^bu Kahafa, 
being on the point of leaving this world for the next, and at 
that moment when infidels believe, when the wicked cease to 
doubt, and when liars speak the truth, do make this declaration 

of my w r ill to the Moslems. I nominate, as my successor, " 

Here he was overtaken with faintness, so that he could not 
speak. Othman, who knew his intentions, added the name of 
Omar Ibn al Khattab. When Abu Beker came to himself, and 
saw what his secretary had written, " God bless thee," said he, 
" for this foresight !" He then continued to dictate. " Listen 
to him, and obey him, for, as far as I know him, and have seen 
him, he is integrity itself. He is competent to everything he 
undertakes. He will rule with justice ; if not, God, who knows 
all secrets, will reward him according to his works. I mean all 
for the best, but I cannot see into the hidden thoughts of men. 
Farewell. Act uprightly, and the blessing of Allah be upon 

He ordered this testament to be sealed with his seal, and 
copies of it to be sent to the principal authorities, civil and 
military. Then, having sent for Omar, he told him of his 
having nominated him as his successor. 

Omar w r as a stern and simple-minded man ; unambitious of 
posts and dignities. " Oh, successor to the apostle of God !" 
said he, " spare me from this burden. I have no need of the 
Caliphat." " But the Caliphat has need of you !" replied the 
dying Abu Beker. 

He went on to claim his acceptance of the office as a proof of 

E 



50 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



friendship to himself and of devotion to the public good, for he 
considered him eminently calculated to maintain an undivided 
rule over the restless people so newly congregated into an em- 
pire. Having brought him to accept, he gave him much dying 
counsel, and, after he had retired, prayed fervently for his suc- 
cess, and that the dominion of the faith might be strengthened 
and extended during his reign. Having thus provided for a 
quiet succession to his office, the good Caliph expired in the 
arms of his daughter Ayesha, in the sixty-fourth year of his 
age, having reigned two years, three months, and nine days. 
At the time of his death, his father and mother were still 
living, the former ninety-seven years of age. When the ancient 
Moslem heard of the death of his son, he merely said, in Scrip- 
tural phrase, "The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken 
away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!" 

Abu Beker had four wives ; the last had been the widow of 
Jaafar, who fell in the battle of Muta. She bore him two sons 
after his sixtieth year. He does not appear, however, to have 
had the same fondness for the sex as the prophet, notwithstand- 
ing his experience in wedlock. " The women/' he used to say, 
"are all an evil; but the greatest evil of all is, that they are 
necessary." 

Abu Beker was universally lamented by his subjects, and he 
deserved their lamentations, for he had been an excellent ruler, 
just, moderate, temperate, frugal, and disinterested. His reign 
was too short to enable him to carry out any extensive schemes, 
but it w r as signalised by the promptness and ability with which, 
through the aid of the sword, he quelled the wide-spreading 
insurrections on the death of the prophet, and preserved the 
scarcely launched empire of Islam from perfect shipwreck. He 
left behind him a name dear to all true Moslems, and an 
example which, Omar used to say, would be a difficult pattern 
for his successors to imitate. 

CHAPTER XII. 

The nomination of Omar to the succession was supported by 
Ayesha, and acquiesced in by Ali, who saw that opposition 
would be ineffectual. The election took place on the day of 
the decease of Abu Beker. The character of the new Caliph 
has already, through his deeds, been made known in some mea- 
sure to the reader ; yet a sketch of him may not be unacceptable. 
He was now about fifty-three years of age, a tall dark man, 



OMAR. 



51 



with a grave demeanour and a bald head. He was so tall, says 
one of his biographers, that when he sat he was higher than 
those who stood. His strength was uncommon, and he used 
the left as adroitly as the right hand. Though so bitter an 
enemy of Islamism at first as to seek the life of Mahomet, he 
became, from the moment of his conversion, one of its most 
sincere and strenuous champions. He had taken an active part 
in the weightiest and most decisive events of the prophet's 
career. His name stands at the head of the weapon companions 
at Beder, Ohod, Kha'ibar, Honein, and Tabuc, at the defence of 
Medina, and the capture of Mecca ; and, indeed, he appears to 
have been the soul of most of the early military enterprises of 
the faith. His zeal was prompt, and almost fiery in its opera- 
tions. He expounded, and enforced the doctrines of Islam like 
a soldier. When a question was too knotty for his logic, he 
was ready to sever it with the sword, and to strike off the head 
of him who persisted in false arguing and unbelief. 

In the administration of affairs, his probity and justice were 
proverbial. In private life he was noted for abstinence and 
frugality, and. a contempt for the false grandeur of the world. 
Water was his only beverage. His food a few dates, or a few 
bits of barley-bread and salt ; but, in time of penance, even 
salt was retrenched as a luxury. His austere piety and self- 
denial, and the simplicity and almost poverty of his appearance, 
were regarded with reverence in those primitive days of Islam. 
He had shrewd maxims, on which he squared his conduct, of 
which the following is a specimen: "Four things come not 
back — the spoken word ; the sped arrow ; the past life; and the 
neglected opportunity." 

During his reign mosques were erected without number for 
the instruction and devotion of the faithful, and prisons for the 
punishment of delinquents. He likewise put in use a scourge 
with twisted thongs, for the correction of minor offences, among 
which he included satire and scandal; and so potently and 
extensively was it plied, that the word went round, " Omar's 
twisted scourge is more to be feared than his sword." 

On assuming his office, he was saluted as Caliph of the Caliph 
of the apostle of God — in other words, successor to the successor 
of the prophet. Omar objected, that such a title must lengthen 
with every successor, until it became endless ; upon which it 
was proposed and agreed that he should receive the title of 
Emir-al-Moumenin — that is to say, Commander of the Faitlrful. 

e 2 



52 



THE SUCCESSORS OF 3IAH03IET. 



This title, altered into Miramamolin, was subsequently borne by 
such Moslem sovereigns as held independent sway, acknowledg- 
ing no superior, and is equivalent to that of emperor. 

One of the first measures of the new Caliph was with regard 
to the army in Syria. His sober judgment was not to be dazzled 
by daring and brilliant exploits in arms, and he doubted the fit- 
ness of Khaled for the general command. He acknowledged 
his valour and military skill, but considered him rash, fiery, and 
prodigal ; prone to hazardous and extravagant adventure, and 
more fitted to be a partisan than a leader. He resolved, there- 
fore, to take the principal command of the army out of such in- 
discreet hands, and restore it to Abu Obeidah, who, he said, had 
proved himself worthy of it by his piety, modesty, moderation, 
and good faith. He accordingly wrote on a skin of parchment 
a letter to Abu Obeidah, informing him of the death of Abu 
Beker, and his own elevation as Caliph, and appointing him 
commander-in-chief of the army of Syria. 

The letter was delivered to Abu Obeidah at the time that 
Khaled was absent in pursuit of the caravan of exiles. The good 
Obeidah was surprised, but sorely perplexed by the contents. 
His own modesty made him unambitious of high command, and 
his opinion of the signal valour and brilliant services of Khaled 
made him loth to supersede him, and doubtful whether the 
Caliph would not feel disposed to continue him as commander- 
in-chief when he should hear of his recent success at Damascus. 
He resolved, therefore, to keep for the present the contents of 
the Caliph's letter to himself; and accordingly, on Khaled's re- 
turn to Damascus, continued to treat him as commander, and 
suffered him to write his second letter to Abu Beker, giving 
him an account of his recent pursuit and plundering of the 
exiles. 

Omar had not been long installed in office when he received 
the first letters of Khaled announcing the capture of Damascus. 
These tidings occasioned the most extravagant joy at Medina, 
and the valour of Khaled was extolled by the multitude to the 
very skies. In the midst of their rejoicings, they learnt with 
astonishment that the general command had been transferred to 
Abu Obeidah. The admirers of Khaled were loud in their ex- 
postulations. " What !" cried they, " dismissed Khaled when 
in the full career of victory? Remember the reply of Abu 
Beker, when a like measure was urged upon him. 4 1 will not 
sheathe the sword of God, drawn for the promotion of the 
faith.' 99 



OMAR. 



53 



Omar revolved their remonstrances in his mind, but his 
resolution remained unchanged. "Abu Obeidah," said he, "is 
tender and merciful ; vet brave. He will be careful of his 
people, not lavishing- their lives in rash adventures and plunder- 
ing inroads : nor will he be the less formidable in battle for 
being moderate when victorious/' 

In the mean time came the second despatches of Khaled, 
addressed to Abu Beker, announcing the success of his expe- 
dition in pursuit of the exiles ; and requesting his decision of 
the matters in dispute between him. and Abu Obeidah. The 
Caliph was perplexed by this letter, which showed that his 
election as Caliph was yet unknown to the army, and that Abu 
Obeidah had not assumed the command. He now wrote again 
to the latter reiterating his appointment ; and deciding upon 
the matters in dispute. He gave it as his opinion, that Da- 
mascus had surrendered on capitulation, and had not been 
taken by the sword, and directed that the stipulations of the 
covenant should be fulfilled. He declared the pursuit of the 
exiles iniquitous and rash ; and that it would have proved fatal, 
but for the mercy of God. The dismissal of the emperor's 
daughter free of ransom, he termed a prodigal action : as a 
large sum might have been obtained and given to the poor. 
He counselled Abu Obeidah, of whose mild and humane tem- 
per he was well aware, not to be too modest and compliant, 
but, at the same time, not to risk the lives of the faithful in 
the mere hope of plunder. This latter hint was a reproof to 
Khaled. 

Lest this letter should likewise be suppressed through the 
modesty of Abu Obeidah. he despatched it by an officer of 
distinction. Shaded Ibn Aass, whom he appointed his repre- 
sentative in Syria, with orders to have the letter read in pre- 
sence of the Moslems, and to cause him to be proclaimed Caliph 
at Damascus. 

Shaded made good his journey, and found Khaled in his 
tent, still acting as commander-in-chief, and the army ignorant 
of the death of Abu Beker. The tidings he brought struck 
every one with astonishment. The first sentiment expressed 
was grief at the death of the good Abu Beker, who was uni- 
versally lamented as a father : the second was surprise at the 
deposition of Khaled from the command, in the very midst of 
such signal victories : and manv of his officers and soldiers were 
loud in expressing their indignation. 



54 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



If Khaled had been fierce and rude in his career of triumph, 
he proved himself magnanimous in this moment of adversity. 
" I know," said he, " that Omar does not love me ; but since 
Abu Beker is dead, and has appointed him his successor, I 
submit to his commands. He accordingly caused Omar to be 
proclaimed Caliph of Damascus, and resigned his command to 
Abu Obeidah. The latter accepted it with characteristic 
modesty ; but evinced a fear that Khaled would retire in 
disgust, and his signal services be lost to the cause of Islam. 
Khaled, however, soon let him know, that he was as ready to 
serve as to command, and only required an occasion to prove 
that his zeal for the faith was unabated. His personal sub- 
mission extorted admiration even from his enemies, and gained 
him the fullest deference, respect^ and confidence of Abu 
Obeidah. 

About this time one of the Christian tributaries, a base- 
spirited wretch, eager to ingratiate himself with Abu Obeidah, 
came and informed him of a fair object of enterprise. "At no 
great , distance from this, between Tripoli and Harran, there 
is a convent called Daiz Abil Kodos, or the monastery of the 
Holy Father, from being inhabited by a Christian hermit, so 
eminent for wisdom, piety, and mortification of the flesh, that 
he is looked up to as a saint ; so that young and old, rich and 
poor, resort from all parts to seek his advice and blessing, and 
not a marriage takes place among the nobles of the country 
but the bride and bridegroom repair to receive from him the 
nuptial benediction. At Easter there is an annual fair held at 
Abyla in front of the convent, to which are brought the 
richest manufactures of the surrounding country ; silken stuffs, 
jewels of gold and silver, and other precious productions of 
art ; and as the fair is a peaceful congregation of people, un- 
armed and unguarded, it will afford ample booty at little risk 
or trouble/' 

Abu Obeidah announced the intelligence to his troops. 
"Who," said he, "will undertake this enterprise?" His eye 
glanced involuntarily upon Khaled ; it was just such a foray 
as he was wont to delight in ; but Khaled remained silent. 
Abu Obeidah could not ask a service from one so lately in chief 
command; and while he hesitated, Abdallah Ibn Jaafar, step- 
son to Abu Beker, came forward. A banner was given him, 
and five hundred veteran horsemen, scarred in many a battle, 
sallied with him from the gates of Damascus, guided by the 



OMAR. 



55 



traitor Christian. Thev halted to rest before arriving at 
Abvla, and sent forward the Christian as a scout. As he 
approached the place he was astonished to see it crowded with 
an immense concourse of Greeks, Armenians, Copts, and Jews, 
in their various garbs ; beside these there was a grand proces- 
sion of nobles and courtiers in rich attire, and priests in re- 
ligious dresses, with a guard of five thousand horse ; all, as he 
learned, escorting the daughter of the prefect of Tripoli, who 
was lately married, and had come with her husband to re- 
ceive the blessing of the venerable hermit. The Christian 
scout hastened back to the Moslems, and warned them to 
retreat. 

" I dare not." said Abdallah, promptly : i; I fear the wrath 
of Allah, should I turn my back. I will right these infidels. 
Those who help me, God will reward; those whose hearts fail 
them, are welcome to retire.'' Xot a Moslem turned his back. 
" Forward 1" said Abdallah to the Christian, " and thou shak 
behold what the companions of the prophet can perform." The 
traitor hesitated, however, and was with difficulty persuaded to 
guide them on a service of such peril. 

Abdallah led his band near to Abvla, where they lay close 
until morning. At the dawn of dav. having performed the 
customary prayer, he divided his host into five squadrons of a 
hundred each ; they were to charge at once in five different 
places, with the shout of Allah Achbar ! and to slay or cap 
ture without stopping to pillage until the victory should be 
complete. He then reconnoitred the place. The hermit was 
preaching in front of his convent to a multitude of auditors ; 
the fair teemed with people in the variegated garbs of the 
Orient. One house was guarded by a great number of horse- 
men, and numbers of persons, richly clad, were going in and 
out, or standing about it. In this house evidently was the 
youthful bride. 

Abdallah encouraged his followers to despise the number 
of these foes. "Remember,*' cried he, "the words of the 
prophet. ; Paradise is under the shadow of swords !' If we 
conquer, we shall have glorious booty, if we fall, paradise 
awaits us !" 

The five squadrons charged as they had been ordered, with 
the well-known war- err. The Christians were struck with 
dismay, thinking the whole Moslem army upon them. There 
was a direful confusion ; the multitude flying in all directions ; 
women and children shrieking and crying:: booths and tents 



56 THE SUCCESSORS OF MAH03TET. 

overturned, and precious merchandise scattered about the 
streets. The troops, however, seeing the inferior number of 
the assailants, plucked up spirits and charged upon them. The 
merchants and inhabitants recovered from their panic and flew 
to arms, and the Moslem, band, hemmed in among such a host 
of foes, seemed, say the Arabian writers, like a white spot on 
the hide of a black camel. A Moslem trooper, seeing the peril 
of his companions, broke his way out of the throng, and, throw- 
ing the reins on the neck of his steed, scoured back to Damas- 
cus for succour. 

In this moment of emergency Abu Obeidah forgot all 
scruples of delicacy, and turned to the man he had superseded 
in office. "Fail us not," cried he. "in this moment of peril; 
but, for God's sake, hasten to deliver thy brethren from de- 
struction." 

'• Had Omar given the command of the army to a child." 
replied the gracious Khaled, u I should have obeyed him ; how- 
much more thee, my predecessor in the faith of Islam V 9 

He how arrayed himself in a coat of mail, the spoil of the 
false prophet 3Ioseilma ; he put on a helmet of proof, and over 
it a skull-cap. which he called the blessed cap, and attributed 
to it wonderful virtues, having received the prophet's bene- 
diction. Then springing on his horse, and putting himself at 
the head of a chosen band, he scoured off towards Abyla, with 
the bold Derar at his side. 

In the mean time the troops, under Abdallah. had maintained 
throughout the day a desperate conflict ; heaps of the slain 
testified their prowess ; but their ranks were sadly thinned, 
scarce one of the survivors but had received repeated wounds, 
and they were ready to sink under heat, fatigue, and thirst. 
Towards sunset a cloud of dust is seen : is it a reinforcement of 
their enemies ? A troop of horsemen emerge. They bear the 
black eagle of Khaled. The air resounds with the shout of 
Allah Achbar. The Christians are assailed on either side : 
some fly and are pursued to the river by the unsparing sword or 
Khaled : others rallv round the monastery. Derar engages 
hand to hand with the prefect of Tripoli ; they grapple : they 
struggle : they fall to the earth ; Derar is uppermost, and. 
drawing a poniard, plunges it into the heart of his adversary. 
He springs upon his feet, vaults into the saddle of the prefect's 
horse, and, with a shout of Allah Aehbar, gallops in quest of 
new opponents. 

The battle is over. The fair is given up to plunder. Horses. 



03IAR. 



57 



mules, and asses are laden with silken stuffs, rich embroidery, 
jewels of gold and silver, precious stones, spices, perfumes, and 
other wealthy plunder of the merchants ; but the most precious 
•part of the spoil is the beautiful bride, with forty damsels, who 
formed her bridal train. 

The monastery was left desolate, with none but the holy 
anchorite to inhabit it. Khaled called upon the old man. but 
received no answer; he called again, but the only reply was. 
to invoke the vengeance of Heaven upon his head for the 
Christian blood he had spilt. The fierce Saracen paused as be 
was driving off the spoil, and laying his hand upon the hilt of 
his scimetar, looked back grimly upon the hermit. "'What we 
have done," said he, " is in obedience to the law of God, who 
commands us to slay all unbelievers ; and had not the apostle 
of God commanded us to let such men as thee alone, thou 
shouldst have shared the fate of thy fellow-infidels !" 

The old man saw his clanger in time, and discreetly held his 
peace, and the sword of Islam remained within its scabbard. 

The conquerors bore their booty and their captives back in 
triumph to Damascus. One-fifth of the spoil was set apart for 
the public treasury : the rest was distributed among the 
soldiery. Derar, as a trophy of his exploit, received the horse 
of the prefect of Tripoli, but he made it a present to his 
Amazonian sister Caulah. The saddle and trappings were 
studded with precious stones ; these she picked out and dis- 
tributed among her female companions. 

Among the spoils was a cloth curiously wrought with a like- 
ness of the blessed Saviour ; which, from the exquisite work- 
manship, or the sanctity of the portrait, was afterwards sold in 
Arabia Felix for ten times its weight in gold. 

Abdallah, for his part of the spoil, asked for the daughter of 
the prefect, having been smitten with her charms. His demand 
was referred to the Caliph Omar and granted, and the captive 
beauty lived with him many years. Obeidah, in his letters to 
the Caliph, generously set forth the magnanimous conduct and 
distinguished prowess of Khaled on this occasion ; and entreated 
Omar to write a letter to that general expressive of his sense of 
his recent services, as it might soothe the mortification he must 
experience from his late deposition. The Caliph, however, 
though he replied to every other part of the letter of Obeidah, 
took no notice, either by word or deed, of that relating to 
Khaled. from which it was evident that, in secret, he enter- 
tained no great regard for the unsparing sword of Islam. 



58 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The alertness and hardihood of the Saracens in their rapid 
campaigns have been attributed to their simple and abstemious 
habits. They knew nothing of the luxuries of the pampered 
Greeks, and were prohibited the use of wine. Their drink was 
water, their food principally milk, rice, and the fruits of the 
earth, and their dress the coarse raiments of the desert. An 
army of such men was easily sustained, marched rapidly from 
place to place, and was fitted to cope w T ith the vicissitudes of 
war. The interval of repose, however, in the luxurious city of 
Damascus, and the general abundance of the fertile regions of 
Syria, began to have their effect upon the Moslem troops, and 
the good Abu Obeidah was especially scandalised at discovering 
that they were lapsing into the use of wine, so strongly for- 
bidden by the prophet. He mentioned the prevalence of this 
grievous sin in his letter to the Caliph, who read it in the 
mosque in presence of his officers. u By Allah," exclaimed the 
abstemious Omar, ci these fellows are only fit for poverty and 
hard fare ; what is to be done with these wine-bibbers ?" 

" Let him who drinks wine/*' replied Ali. promptly, " receive 
twenty bastinadoes on the soles of his feet." 

•■'Good, it shall be so," rejoined the Caliph; and he wrote 
to that effect to the commander-in-chief. On receiving the 
letter, Abu Obeidah forthwith summoned the offenders, and 
had the punishment publicly inflicted for the edification of his 
troops; he took the occasion to descant on the enormity of the 
offence, and to exhort such as had sinned in private to come 
forward like good Moslems, make public confession, and submit 
to the bastinado in token of repentance; whereupon many, 
who had indulged in secret potations, moved by his paternal 
exhortation, avowed their crime and their repentance, and were 
set at ease in their consciences by a sound bastinadoing and the 
forgiveness of the good Abu Obeidah. 

That worthy commander now left a garrison of five hundred 
horse at Damascus, and issued forth with his host to prosecute 
the subjugation of Syria. He had a rich field of enterprise 
before him. The country of Syria, from the amenity of its 
climate, tempered by the vicinity of the sea and the mountains, 
from the fertility of its soil, and the happy distribution of woods 
and streams, was peculiarly adapted for the vigorous support 
and prolific increase of animal life; it accordingly teemed with 
population, and was studded with ancient and embattled cities 



OMAR* 59 

and fortresses. Two of the proudest and most splendid of these 
were Emessa (the modern Hems), the capital of the plains: 
and Baalbec, the famous city of the Sun, situated between the 
mountains of Lebanon. 

These two cities, with others intermediate, were the objects 
of Abu Obeidah's enterprise, and he sent Khaled in advance, 
with Derar and Rail Ibn Omeirah, at the head of a third of 
the army, to scour the country about Emessa. In his own 
slower march, with the main body of the army, he approached 
the city of Jusheyah, but was met by the governor, who pur- 
chased a year's truce with the payment of four hundred pieces 
of gold and fifty silken robes; and the promise to surrender 
the city at the expiration of a year, if in that interval Baalbec 
and Emessa should have been taken. 

When Abu Obeiclah came before Emessa he found Khaled 
in active operation. The governor of the place had died on 
the day on which the Moslem force appeared, and the city was 
not fully provisioned for a siege. The inhabitants negotiated 
a truce for one year by the payment of ten thousand pieces of 
gold and two hundred suits of silk, with the engagement to 
surrender at the end of that term, provided he should have 
taken Aleppo, Alhadir, and Kennesrm, and defeated the army 
of the emperor. Khaled wculd have persevered in the siege, 
but Abu Obeidah thought it the wisest policy to agree to 
these golden terms, by which he provided himself with the 
sinews of war, and was enabled to proceed more surely in his 
career. 

The moment the treaty was concluded, the people of Emessa 
threw open their gates; held a market or fair beneath the 
walls, and began to drive a lucrative trade ; for the Moslem 
camp was full of booty, and these marauding warriors, flushed 
with sudden wealth, squandered plunder of all kinds, and never 
regarded the price of anything that struck their fancy. In the 
mean time predatory bands foraged the country both far and 
near, and came ^driving in sheep and cattle, and horses and 
camels, laden with household booty of all kinds ; besides multi- 
tudes of captives. The piteous lamentations of these people, 
torn from their peaceful homes and doomed to slavery, touched 
the heart of Abu Obeidah. He told them that all who would 
embrace the Islam faith should have their lives and propertv. 
On such as chose to remain in infidelity, he imposed a ransom 
of five pieces of gold a head, besides an annual tribute ; caused 



60 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET, 



their names and places of abode to be registered in a book, 
and then gave them back their property, their wives and chil- 
dren, on condition that they should act as guides and inter- 
preters to the Moslems in case of need. 

The merciful policy of the good Abu Obeidah promised to 
promote the success of Islam, even more potently than the 
sword. The Syrian Greeks came in, in great numbers, to have 
their names enregistered in the book of tributaries ; and other 
cities capitulated for a year's truce on the terms granted to 
Emessa. Khaled, however, who was no friend to truces and 
negotiations, murmured at these peaceful measures, and offered 
to take these cities in less time than it required to treat with 
them ; but Abu Obeidah was not to be swerved from the path 
of moderation; thus, in a little time, the whole territories of 
Emessa, Alhadir, and Kennesrin, were rendered sacred from 
maraud. The predatory warriors of the desert were somewhat 
impatient at being thus hemmed in by prohibited boundaries, 
and on one occasion had well nigh brought the truce to an ab- 
rupt termination. A party of Saracen troopers, in prowling 
along the confines of Kennesrin, came to where the Christians, 
to mark their boundary, had erected a statue of the Emperor 
Heraclius, seated on his throne. The troopers, who had a 
Moslem hatred of images, regarded this with derision, and 
amused themselves with careering round and tilting at it, until 
one of them, either accidentally or in sport, struck out one of the 
eyes with his lance. 

The Greeks were indignant at this outrage. Messengers 
were sent to Abu Obeidah, loudly complaining of it as an inten- 
tional breach of the truce, and a flagrant insult to the emperor. 
Abu Obeidah mildly assured them that it was his disposition 
most rigorously to observe the truce; that the injury to the 
statue must have been accidental, and that no indignity to the 
emperor could have been intended. His moderation only in- 
creased the arrogance of the ambassadors; their emperor had 
been insulted ; it was for the Caliph to give redress according 
to the measure of the law: u an eye for an eye — a tooth for a 
t^oth." "What!" cried some of the over-zealous Moslems, 
"do the infidels mean to claim an eye from the Caliph?" In 
their rage they would have slain the messengers on the spot : 
but the quiet Abu Obeidah stayed their wrath. " They speak 
but figuratively," said he ; then taking the messengers aside, he 
shrewdly compromised the matter, and satisfied their wounded 



OMAR. 



61 



loyalty, by agreeing that they should set up a statue of the 
Caliph, with glass eyes, and strike out one of them in retali- 
ation. 

While Abu Obeidah was pursuing this moderate course, and 
subduing the country by clemency rather than by force of 
arms, missives came from the Caliph, who was astonished at 
receiving no tidings of further conquest, reproaching him with 
his slowness, and with preferring worldly gain to the pious 
exercise of the sword. The soldiers, when they heard of the 
purport of this letter, took the reproaches to themselves, and 
wept with vexation. Abu Obeidah himself was stung to the 
quick, and repented him of the judicious truces he had made. 
In the excitement of the moment, he held a council of war, 
and it was determined to lose not a day, although the truces 
had but about a month to run. He accordingly left Khaled 
with a strong force in the vicinity of Emessa to await the ex- 
piration of the truce, while he marched with the main host 
against the city of Baalbec. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Baalbec, so called from Baal, the Syrian appellation of the 
Sun, or Apollo, to which deity it was dedicated, was one of 
the proudest cities of ancient Syria. It was the metropolis of 
the great and fertile valley of Bekaa, lving between the moun- 
tains of Lebanon and Anti Lebanon. During 1 the Grecian 
domination it was called Heliopolis, which likewise means the 
City of the Sun. It was famous for its magnificent temple 
of Baal, which, tradition affirms, was built by Solomon the 
Wise to please one of his wives, a native of Sidon and a wor- 
shipper of the Sun. The immense blocks of stone of which it 
was constructed were said to have been brought by the genii, 
over whom Solomon had control by virtue of his talismanic 
seal. Some of them remain to this day objects of admiration 
to the traveller, and perplexity to the modern engineer.* 

On his march against Baalbec, Abu Obeidah intercepted a 
caravan of four hundred camels laden with silks and sugars, on 
the way to that city. With his usual clemency he allowed the 
captives to ransom themselves ; some of whom carried to 
Baalbec the news of his approach, and of the capture of the 
caravan. Herbis, the governor, supposing the Saracens to be 

* Among these huge blocks some measure fifty-eight, and one sixty - 
nine feet in length. 



62 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



a. mere marauding* party, sallied forth with six thousand horse 
and a multitude of irregular foot, in hope to recover the spoils, 
but found to his cost that he had an army to contend with, and 
was driven back to the city with great loss, after receiving seven 
wounds. 

Abu Obeidah set himself down before the city, and addressed 
a letter to the inhabitants, reminding them of the invincible 
arms of the faithful, and inviting them to profess Islamism, or 
pay tribute. This letter he gave in charge to a Syrian peasant, 
and with it a reward of twenty pieces of silver, "for Allah for- 
bid," said the conscientious general, " that I should employ thee 
without pay. The labourer is worthy of his hire." 

The messenger was drawn up by a cord to the battlements, 
and delivered the letter to the inhabitants, many of whom, on 
hearing the contents, were inclined to surrender. Herbis, the 
governor, however, who was still smarting with his wounds, 
tore the letter in pieces, and dismissed the messenger without 
deigning a reply. 

Abu Obeidah now ordered his troops to the assault, but 
the garrison made brave defence, and did such execution with 
their engines from the walls, that the Saracens were repulsed 
with considerable loss. The weather was cold; so Abu Obei- 
dah, who was ever mindful of the welfare of his men, sent a 
trumpeter round the camp next morning, forbidding any man 
to take the field until he had made a comfortable meal. All 
were now busy cooking, when, in the midst of their preparations, 
the city gates were thrown open, and the Greeks came scouring 
upon them, making great slaughter. They were repulsed with 
some difficulty, but carried off prisoners and plunder. 

Abu Obeidah now removed his camp out of the reach of the 
engines, and where his cavalry would have more room. He 
threw out detachments also, to distract the attention of the 
enemy and oblige them to fight in several places. Saad Ibn 
Zeid, with five hundred horse and three hundred foot, was 
to show himself in the valley opposite the gate looking towards 
the mountains; while Derar, with three hundred horse and 
two hundred foot, was stationed in front of the gate on the 
side toward Damascus. 

Herbis, the governor, seeing the Saracens move back their 
tents, supposed them to be intimidated by their late loss. 
" These Arabs," said he, " are half- naked vagabonds of the 
desert, who fight without object; we are locked up in steel, 



OMAR, 



63 



and fight for our wives and children, our property and our 
lives." lie accordingly roused his troops to make another sally, 
and an obstinate battle ensued. One of the Moslem officers, 
Sohail Ibn Sabah, being disabled by a sabre cut in the right 
arm, alighted from his horse, and clambered a neighbouring 
hill which overlooked the field, the city, and its vicinity. Here 
he sat watching the various fortunes of the field. The sallv had 
been made through the gate before which Abu Obeidah was 
posted, who of course received the whole brunt of the attack. 
The battle was hot, and Sohail perceived from his hill that the 
3Ioslems in this quarter were hard pressed, and that the gene- 
ral was giving ground, and in imminent danger of being- 
routed ; while Derar and Saad remained inactive at their dis- 
tant posts ; no sally having been made from the gates before 
which they were stationed. Upon this Sohail gathered to- 
gether some green branches, and set fire to them, so as to 
make a column of smoke ; a customary signal by day among 
the Arabs, as fire was by night. Derar and Saad beheld the 
smoke and galloped with their troops in that direction. Their 
arrival changed the whole fortune of the field. Herbis, who 
had thought himself on the eve of victory, now found himself 
beset on each side and cut off from the city! Nothing" but 
strict discipline and the impenetrable Grecian phalanx saved 
him. His men closed shield to shield, their lances in advance, 
and made a slow and defensive retreat, the Moslems wheeling 
around and charging incessantly upon them. Abu Obeidah. 
who knew nothing of the arrival of Derar and Saad, imagined 
the retreat of the Christians a mere feint, and called back his 
troops; Saad. however, who heard not the general's order, kept 
on in pursuit, until he drove the enemy to the top of a hill, 
where thev ensconced themselves in an old deserted monasterv. 

When Abu Obeidah learnt the secret of this most timely aid, 
and that it was in consequence of a supposed signal from him, 
he acknowledged that the smoke was an apt thought, and saved 
his camp from being- sacked ; but he prohibited any man from 
repeating such an act without orders from the general. 

In the mean time Herbis, the governor, finding the small 
number that invested the convent, sallied forth with his troops, 
in hopes of cutting his way to the city. Xever did men fight 
more valiantly, and they had already made great havoc, when 
the arrival of a fresh swarm of Moslems drove them back to 
their forlorn fortress, where they were so closely watched, that 



64 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



not a Grecian eye could peer from the old walls without being 
the aim of a Moslem arrow. 

Abu Obeidah now invested the city more closely than ever, 
leaving Saad, with his forces, to keep the governor encaged in 
the monastery. The latter perceived it would be impossible to 
hold out longer in this shattered edifice, destitute of provisions. 
His proud spirit was completely broken, and, throwing off his 
silken robes, and clothing him in a worn woollen garb, as suited 
to his humble situation, he sought a conference with Saad to 
treat on terms of capitulation. The Moslem captain replied 
that he could only treat for the party in the convent, whom he 
would receive as brothers, if they would acknowledge God 
and the prophet, or would let them free on the pledge not to 
bear arms against the Moslems. He proffered to lead Herbis 
to the general, if he wished to treat for the citv also; and 
added, that, should the negotiation fail, he and his Greeks 
might return into their convent, and let God and the sword 
decide. 

Herbis was accordingly led through the besieging camp into 
the presence of Abu Obeidah, and gnawed his lip when he saw 
the inconsiderable number of the Moslem host. He offered, as 
a ransom for the city, one thousand ounces of gold, two thou- 
sand of silver, and one thousand silken robes ; but Abu Obeidah 
demanded that he should double the amount, and add thereto 
one thousand sabres, and all the arms of the soldiers in the 
monasterv; as well as engage in behalf of the city to pay an 
annual tribute; to engage to erect no more Christian churches, 
nor ever more act in hostility against the Moslem power. 

These harsh terms being conceded, Herbis was permitted to 
enter the city alone, and submit them to the inhabitants, all 
his attendants being detained as hostages. The townsmen at 
first refused to capitulate, saying their city was the strongest 
in all Syria; but Herbis offered to pay down one-fourth of the 
ransom himself, and they at length complied. One point was 
conceded to the people of Baalbec to soothe their wounded 
pride. It was agreed that Rafi Ibn Abdallah, who was to 
remain with five hundred men, acting as lieutenant of Baalbec 
for Abu Obeidah, should encamp without the walls, and not 
enter the city. These matters being arranged, Abu Obeidah 
marched with his host on other enterprises. 

The Saracen troops under Rafi Ibn Abdallah soon ingra- 
tiated themselves with the people of Baalbec. They pillaged 



OMAR. 



65 



the surrounding country, and sold their booty for low prices to 
the townsfolk, who thus grew wealthy on the spoils of their 
own countrymen. Herbis, the governor, felt a desire to par- 
ticipate in these profits, He reminded his fellow-citizens how 
much he had paid for their ransom, and what good terms he 
had effected for them; and then proposed that he should have 
one-tenth of w T hat they gained in traffic with the Moslems, to 
reimburse him. They consented, though with extreme reluc- 
tance. In a few days he found the gain so sweet that he 
thirsted for more; he therefore told them that his reimburse- 
ment would be tedious at this rate, and proposed to receive 
one-fourth. The people, enraged at his cupidity, rushed on 
him with furious outcries, and killed him on the spot. The 
noise of the tumult reached the camp of Rafi Ibn Abdallah, 
and a deputation of the inhabitants coming" forth, entreated 
him to enter the city, and govern it himself. He scrupled to 
depart from the terms of the treaty until he had written to 
Abu Obeidah; but on receiving permission from the general, 
he entered and took command. Thus did the famous Baalbec. 
the ancient Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, fall under the 
Saracen sway on the 20th of January, a.d. 636, being the 
fifteenth year of the Hegira. 

CHAPTER XV. 

The year's truce with the city of Emessa having now ex- 
pired, Abu Obeidah appeared before that place, and summoned 
it in the following" form : 

"In the name of the most merciful God. Abu Obeidah Ibn 
Aljerah, general of the armies of the Commander of the Faith- 
ful, Omar Al Khattab, to the people of Emessa. Let not the 
loftiness of your walls, the strength of your bulwarks, nor the 
robustness of your bodies, lead you into error. Allah hath 
conquered stronger places through the means of his servants. 
Your city would be of no more consideration against us than a 
kettle of pottage set in the midst of our camp. 

"I invite you to embrace our holy faith, and the law revealed 
to our prophet Mahomet; and we will send pious men to in- 
struct you, and you shall participate in all our fortunes. 

" If you refuse, you shall still be left in possession of all your 
property on the payment of annual tribute. If you reject both 
conditions, come forth from behind your stone walls, and let 
Allah, the supreme judge, decide between us." 

F 



66 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



This summons was treated with scorn ; and the garrison 
made a bold sally, and handled their besiegers so roughly, that 
they were glad when night put an end to the conflict. In the 
evening a crafty old Arab sought the tent of Abu Obeidah; he 
represented the strength of the place, the intrepidity of the 
soldiers, and the ample stock of provisions, which would enable 
it to stand a weary siege. He suggested a stratagem, however, 
by which it might be reduced, and Abu Obeidah adopted his 
counsel. Sending a messenger into the city, he offered to the 
inhabitants to strike his tents, and lead his troops to the attack 
of other places, provided they would furnish him provisions for 
five days' march. His offer was promptly accepted, and the 
provisions were furnished. Abu Obeidah now pretended that, 
as his march would be long, a greater supply would be neces- 
sary : he continued to buy, therefore, as long as the Christians 
had provisions to sell, and in this manner exhausted their ma- 
gazines ; and as the scouts from other cities beheld the people 
of Emessa throw open their gates and bring forth provisions, 
it became rumoured throughout the country that the city had 
surrendered. 

Abu Obeidah, according to promise, led his host against 
other places. The first was Arrestan, a fortified city, well 
watered, prowisioned, and garrisoned. His summons being 
repeated, and rejected, he requested the governor of the place 
to let him leave there twenty chests of cumbrous articles, which 
impeded him in his movements. The request was granted with 
great pleasure at getting' clear so readily of such marauders, 
The twenty chests, secured with padlocks, were taken into the 
citadel, but even' chest had a sliding bottom, and contained an 
armed man. Among the picked warriors thus concealed were 
Derar, Abda'lrahman, and Abdallah Ibn Jaafar; while Khaled. 
with a number of troops, was placed in ambush to co-operate 
with those in the chests. 

The Moslem host departed. The Christians went to church 
to return thanks for their deliverance, and the sounds of their 
hymns of triumph reached the ears of Derar and his comrades. 
Upon this they issued forth from their chests, seized the wife of 
the governor, and obtained from her the keys of the gates. 
Abdallah, with fourteen men, hastened to the church and closed 
the doors upon the congregation; while Derar, with four com- 
panions, threw open the gates with the cry of Allah Aehbar: 
upon which Khaled and his forces rushed from their ambuscade, 
and the city was taken almost without bloodshed. 



OMAR. 



67 



The city of Shaizar was next assailed, and capitulated on 
favourable terms; and now AbuObeidah returned before Emessa, 
and once more summoned it to surrender. The governor re- 
monstrated loudly, reminding the Moslem general of his treaty, 
by which he engaged to depart from Emessa, and carry the war 
against other places. " I engaged to depart," replied Abu 
Obeidah, " but I did not engage not to return. I have carried 
the war against other places, and have subdued Arrestan and 
Shaizar." 

The people of Emessa now perceived how they had been cir- 
cumvented. Their magazines had been drained of provisions, 
and they had not wherewithal to maintain them against a siege. 
The governor, however, encouraged them to try the chance of 
a battle as before. They prepared for the fight by pravers in 
the churches ; and the governor took the sacrament in the 
church of St. George: but he sought to enhearten himself by 
grosser means, for we are told he ate the whole of a roasted kid 
for his supper, and caroused on wine until the crowing of the 
cock. In the morning, early, he arrayed himself in rich apparel, 
and sallied forth at the head of five thousand horsemen, all men 
of strength and courage, and well armed. They charged the 
besiegers so bravely, and their archers so galled them from the 
walls, that the Moslem force gave way. 

Khaled now threw himself in front of the battle, and enacted 
wondrous feats to rally his soldiers and restore the fight. In an 
encounter, hand to hand, with a Greek horseman, his scimetar 
broke, and he was weaponless, but closing with his adversarv, 
he clasped him in his arms, crushed his ribs, and drawing him 
from his saddle, threw him dead to the earth. The imminent 
peril of the fight roused a frantic valour in the Moslems. In the 
heat of enthusiasm Ikremah, a youthful cousin of Khaled, 
galloped about the field, fighting with reckless fury, and raving 
about the joys of paradise promised to all true believers who fell 
in the battles of the faith. " I see," cried he, " the black-eved 
houris of Paradise. One of them, if seen on earth, would make 
mankind die of love. They are smiling on us. One of them 
waves a handkerchief of green silk, and holds a cup of precious 
stones. She beckons me; come hither quickly, she cries, my 
well-beloved!" In this way he went, shouting Al Jennah ! Al 
Jennah! Paradise! Paradise! charging into the thickest of 
the Christians, and making fearful havoc, until he reached 
the place where the governor was fighting, who sent a javelin 



68 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



through his heart, and despatched him in quest of his vaunted 
Elysium. 

^Xight alone parted the hosts, and the Moslems retired ex- 
hausted to their tents, glad to repose from so rude a fight. 
Even Kbaled counselled Abu Obeidah to have recourse to 
stratagem, and make a pretended right the next morning; to 
draw the Greeks, confident through this day's success, into dis- 
order; for while collected, their phalanx presented an impene- 
trable wall to the Moslem horsemen. 

Accordingly, at the dawning of the day. the Moslems re- 
treated: at first with a show of order: then with a feigned con- 
fusion, for it was an Arab stratagem of war to scatter and rallv 
again in the twinkling of an eye. The Christians, t hinking 
their flight unfeigned, broke up their steady phalanx, some 
making headlong pursuit, while others dispersed to plunder the 
Moslem camp. 

Suddenly the Moslems faced about, surrounded the confused 
mass of Christians, and fell upon it. as the Arabian historian 
says. " like eagles upon a carcase. J ' Ehaled and Derar and 
other chiefs spiiited them on with shouts of Allah Achbar, and a 
terrible rout and slaughter ensued. The number of Christian 
corpses on that field exceeded sixteen hundred. The governor 
was recognised among the slain by Iris enormous bulk, his 
bloated face, and his costly apparel, fragrant with perfumes. 

The city of Emessa surrendered as a sequel to that fight, but 
the Moslems could neither stay to take possession, nor afford to 
leave a garrison. Tidings had reached them of the approach of 
an immense army, composed of the heavily armed Grecian 
soldiery and the light troops of the desert, that threatened com- 
pletely to overwhelm them. Various and contradictory were 
the counsels in this moment of agitation and alarm. Some ad- 
vised that they should hasten back to their native deserts, where 
they would be reinforced by their friends, and where the hostile 
army could not find sustenance : but Abu Obeidah objected that 
such a retreat would be attributed to cowardice. Others cast a 
wistful eye upon the statelv dwellings, the delightful gardens, 
the fertile fields, and green pastures, which they had just won 
by the sword, and chose rather to stay and fight for this land of 
pleasure and abundance, than return to famine and the desert. 
Khaled decided the question. It would not do to linger there, 
he said ; Constantine, the emperor's son, being not far off. at 
Cresarea, with forty thousand men ; he advised, therefore, that 



OMAR. 



69 



they should march to Yermouk, on the borders of Palestine aud 
Arabia, where they would be within reach of assistance from the 
Caliph, and might await, with confidence, the attack of the 
imperial army. The advice of Khaled was adopted. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
The rapid conquests of the Saracens had alarmed the Em- 
peror Heraclius for the safety of his rich province of Syria. 
Troops had been levied both in Europe and Asia, and trans- 
ported by sea and land to various parts of the invaded country. 
The main body, consisting- of eighty thousand men, advanced 
to seek the Moslem host, under the command of a distinguished 
general, called Mahan, by the Arabian writers, and Manuel by 
the Greeks. On its way, the imperial army was joined by 
Jabalah Ibn al Aynham, chief or king of the Christian tribe of 
Gassan. This Jabalah had professed the Mahometan faith, but 
had apostatised in consequence of the following circumstance : 
He had accompanied the Caliph Omar on a pilgrimage to 
Mecca, and was performing the religious ceremony of the 
Towah, or sacred walk seven times round the Caaba, when an 
Arab of the tribe of Fezarah accidentally trod on the skirt of 
his Ihram or pilgrim scarf, so as to draw it from his shoulders. 
Turning fiercely upon the Arab, " Woe be unto thee," cried 
he, 4 * for uncovering my back in the sacred house of God." 
The pilgrim protested it was an accident, but Jabalah buffeted 
him in the face, bruising him sorely, and beating out four of 
his teeth. The pilgrim complained to Omar, but Jabalah 
justified himself, stating the indignity he had suffered. " Had 
it not been for my reverence for the Caaba, and for the pro- 
hibition to shed blood within the sacred city, I would have 
slain the offender on the spot." Thou hast confessed thy 
fault," said Omar, " and unless forgiven by thy adversary, 
must submit to the law of retaliation, ' an eye for an eye, and a 
tooth for a tooth.' " ' ; I am a king," replied Jabalah, proudly, 
<; and he is but a peasant." " Ye are both Moslems," rejoined 
Omar, " and in the sight of Allah, who is no respecter of 
persons, ye are equal." The utmost that Jabaiah could obtain 
from the rigid justice of Omar was, that the execution of the 
sentence might be postponed until the next day. In the night 
he made his escape and tied to Constantinople, where he ab- 
jured Islamism, resumed the Christian faith, and went over to 
the service of the Emperor Heraclius. He had now brought 
sixty thousand Arabs to the aid of Manuel. Such was the 



70 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



powerful host, the approach of which had compelled the Mos- 
lems to abandon Emessa on the very moment of surrender. 
They had marched to Yermouk, a place noted for its pleasant 
groves, and the sweet salubrity of its air, and lay encamped on 
the banks of a little stream of the same name, heretofore ob- 
scure, but now destined to become famous by a battle decisive 
of the fate of Syria. 

Manuel advanced slowly and deliberately with his heavily- 
armed Grecian soldiery; but he sent Jabalah in the advance, 
to scorn the country with his light Arab troops, as best fitted 
to cope with the skirmishing warriors of the desert ; thus, as he 
said, M using diamond to cut diamond." The course of these 
combined armies was marked with waste, rapine, and outrage, 
and they inflicted all kinds of injuries and indignities on those 
Christian places which had made treaties with or surrendered 
to the Moslems. 

While Manuel with his main army was yet at a distance, he 
sent proposals of peace to Abu Obeidah, according to the com- 
mands of the emperor. His proposals were rejected : but 
Obeidah sent several messengers to Jabalah, reproaching him 
with his apostasy and his warfare against his countrymen, and 
endeavouring to persuade him to remain neutral in the impend- 
ing battle. Jabalah replied, however, that his faith was com- 
mitted to the emperor, and he was resolved to fight in his cause. 

Upon this Khaled came forward, and offered to take this 
apostate in his own hands. u Fie is far in the advance of the 
main army,'' said he; "let me have a small body of picked 
men chosen by myself, and I will fall upon him and his infidel 
Arabs before Manuel can come up to their assistance." 

His proposal was condemned by many as rash and extrava- 
gant. i; By no means/*' cried Khaled, with zealous zeal ; "this 
infidel force is the army of the devil, and can do nothing against 
the army of Allah, who will assist us with his angels." 

So pious an argument was unanswerable. Khaled was per- 
mitted to choose his men, all well-seasoned warriors whose 
valour he had proved. With them he fell upon Jabalah, who 
was totally unprepared for so hair-brained an assault, threw his 
host into complete confusion, and obliged him, after much 
slaughter, to retreat upon the main body. The triumph of 
Khaled, however, was damped by the loss of several valiant 
officers, among whom were Yezed, Eafi, and Derar, who were 
borne off captives by the retreating Christians. 

In the mean time a special messenger, named Abdallah Ibn 



OMAR. 



71 



Kort, arrived at Medina, bringing letters to the Caliph from 
Abu Obeidah, describing the perilous situation of the Moslem 
army, and entreating reinforcements. The Caliph ascended 
the pulpit of Mahomet, and preached up the glory of fighting 
the good fight of faith for God and the prophet. He then gave 
Abdallah an epistle for Abu Obeidah, filled with edifying texts 
from the Koran, and ending with an assurance that he would 
pray for him, and would, moreover, send him a speedy rein- 
forcement. This done, he pronounced a blessing on Abdallah, 
and bade him depart with all speed. 

Abdallah was well advanced on his return, when he called to 
mind that he had omitted to visit the tomb of the prophet. 
Shocked at his forgetfulness. he retraced his steps, and sought 
the dwelling of Ayesha, within which the prophet lay interred. 
He found the beautiful widow reclining beside the tomb, and 
listening to Ali and Abbas, who were reading the Koran, while 
Hassan and Hosein, the two sons of AH, and grandsons of the 
prophet, were sitting on their knees. 

Having paid due honours to the prophet's tomb, the con- 
siderate messenger expressed his fears that this pious visit might 
prevent his reaching the army before the expected battle; 
whereupon the holy party lifted up their hands to Heaven, and 
Ah put up a prayer for his speedy journey. Thus inspirited, 
he set out anew, and travelled with such unusual and incredible 
speed, that the army looked upon it as rniraculous, and attributed 
it to the blessing of Omar and the prayer of AH. 

The promised reinforcement was soon on foot. It consisted 
of eight thousand men, under the command of Seid Ibn Amir, 
to whom the Caliph gave a red silk banner, and a word of ad- 
vice at parting; cautioning him to govern himself as well as his 
soldiers, and not to let his appetites get the better of his self- 
command. 

Seid, with Moslem frankness, counselled him, in return, to 
fear God, and not man ; to love all Moslems equaUy with his 
own kindred ; to cherish those at a distance equally with those 
at hand ; finally, to command nothing but what was right, and 
to forbid nothing but what was wrong. The Caliph listened 
attentively, his forehead resting on his staff, and his eyes cast 
upon the ground. When Seid had finished, he raised his head 
and the tears ran down his cheek. <; Alas!" said he, " who 
can do all this without the aid of God!" 

Seid Ibn Amir led his force by the shortest route across the 



72 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



deserts, and hurrying forward with more rapidity than heed, 
lost his way. While he halted one night, in the vicinity of 
some springs, to ascertain his route, he was apprised by his 
scouts that the prefect of Ammon, with five thousand men, 
was near at hand. He fell upon him instantly, and cut the 
infantry to pieces. The prefect fled with his cavalry, but en- 
countered a foraging party from the Moslem camp, the leader 
of which, Zobeir, thrust a lance through his body, and between 
the two parties not a man of his troop escaped. The Moslems 
then placed the heads of the Christians on their lances, and 
arrived with their ghastly trophies at the camp ; to the great 
encouragement of Abu Obeidah and his host. 

The imperial army had now drawn near, and Manuel, the 
general, attempted again to enter into negotiations. Khaled 
offered to go and confer with him; but his real object was to 
attempt the release of his friends and brethren in arms, Abu 
Sofian, Derar, Rati, and the two other officers captured in the 
late skirmish with the apostate Jabalah. 

When Khaled reached the outpost of the Christian army, he 
was required to leave his escort of one hundred chosen warriors, 
and proceed alone to the presence of the general ; but he refused. 
He equally refused a demand that he and his men should dis- 
mount and deliver up their scimetars. After some parley, he 
was permitted to enter into the presence of the general in Ins 
own way. 

Manuel was seated in state on a kind of throne, surrounded 
by his officers, all splendidly arrayed, while Khaled entered with 
his hundred war-worn veterans, clad in the simplest guise. 
Chairs were set out for him and his principal companions, but 
they pushed them aside and seated themselves cross-legged on 
the ground, after the Arabic manner. When Manuel demanded 
the reason, Khaled replied by quoting a verse from the twentieth 
chapter of the Koran. " Of earth ye are created, from earth 
ye came, and unto earth ye must return." "God made the 
earth," added he, "and what God has made for men to sit 
upon, is more precious than your silken tapestries." 

The conference w T as begun by Manuel, who expostulated on 
the injustice of the Moslems in making an unprovoked inroad 
into the territories of their neighbours, molesting them in their 
religious worship, robbing them of their wives and property, 
and seizing on their persons as slaves. Khaled retorted, that it 
was all owing to their own obstinacy, in refusing to acknow- 



OMAK. 



73 



ledge that there was but one God, without relation or associate, 
and that Mahomet was his prophet. Their discussion grew 
violent, and Khaled, in his heat, told Manuel that he should one 
day see him dragged into the presence of Omar with a halter 
round his neck, there to have his head struck off as an example 
to all infidels and for the edification of true believers. 

Manuel replied in wrath, that Khaled was protected by his 
character of ambassador ; but that he would punish Ins inso- 
lence by causing the five Moslem captives, his friends, to be 
instantly beheaded. Khaled defied him to execute his threat, 
swearing by Allah, by his prophet, and by the holy Caaba, that 
if a hair of their heads were injured, he would slay Manuel with 
his own hand on the spot, and that each of his Moslems pre- 
sent should slay his man. So saying, he rose and drew his 
scimetar, as did likewise his companions. 

The imperial general was struck with admiration at Iris in- 
trepidity. He replied calmly, that what he had said was a 
mere threat, which his humanity and his respect for the mission 
of Khaled would not permit him to fulfil. The Saracens were 
pacified and sheathed their swords, and the conference went on 
calmly. 

In the end, Manuel gave up the five prisoners to Khaled 
as a token of his esteem ; and in return Khaled presented 
him with a beautiful scarlet pavilion, which he had brought 
with him, and pitched in the Christian camp, and for which 
Manuel had expressed a desire. Thus ended this conference, 
and both parties retired from it with soldier-like regard for 
each other. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

The great battle was now at hand that was to detennine the 
fate of Syria, for the emperor had staked the fortunes of this 
favourite province on a single, but gigantic blow. Abu Obei- 
dah, conscious of the momentous nature of the confhct, and 
diffident of his abilities in the field, gave a proof of his modesty 
and magnanimity by restoring to Khaled the command of the 
whole army. For himself, he took his station with the women 
in the rear, that he might rally the Moslems should any of them 
be inclined to fly the field. Here he erected his standard, a 
yellow flag, given him by Abu Beker, being the same which 
Mahomet had displayed in the battle of Khaibar. 

Before the action commenced Khaled rode among his troops, 
making a short but emphatic speech. • "Paradise," cried he, 



74 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



"is before you; the devil and hell behind. Fight bravely, 
and you will secure the one ; fly, and you will fall into the 
other." 

The armies closed, but the numbers of the Christians and 
the superiority of Greek and Roman discipline bore down the 
right whig of the Moslems. Those, however, who turned their 
backs and attempted to fly, were assailed with reproaches and 
blows by the women, so that they found it easier to face the 
enemy than such a storm. Even Abu Sofian himself received 
a blow over the face with a tent-pole from one of those viragos, 
as he retreated before the enemy. 

Thrice were the Moslems beaten back by the steady bearing 
of the Grecian phalanx, and thrice were they checked and driven 
back to battle by the women. Night at length brought a 
cessation of the bloody conflict; when Abu Obeidah went round 
among the wounded, ministering to them with his own hands, 
while the women bound up their wounds with tender care. 

The battle was renewed on the following morning, and again 
the Moslems were sorely pressed. The Christian archers made 
fearful havoc, and such was their dexterity, that, among the 
great number of Moslems who suffered from their arrows on 
that day, seven hundred lost one or both eyes. Hence it was 
commemorated as " the Day of the Blinding;" and those who 
had received such wounds gloried in them, in after years, as so 
many trophies of their having struggled for the faith in that 
day of hard fighting. There were several single combats of 
note ; among others, Serjabil was engaged hand to hand with 
a stout Christian ; but Serjabil, having signalised his piety by 
excessive watching and fasting, was so reduced in flesh and 
strength, that he was no match for his adversary, and would 
infallibly have been overpowered, had not Derar come behind 
the Christian, and stabbed him to the heart. Both warriors 
claimed the spoil, but it was adjudged to him who slew the 
enemy. In the course of this arduous day, the Moslems more 
than once wavered, but were rallied back by the valour of the 
women. Caulah, the heroic sister of Derar, mingling in the 
fight, was wounded and struck down ; but Offeirah, her female 
friend, smote off the head of her opponent, and rescued her. 
The battle lasted as long as there was light enough to distin- 
guish friend from foe ; but the night w r as welcome to the 
Moslems, who needed all their enthusiasm and reliance on the 
promises of the prophet to sustain them, so hard was the struggle 



OMAR. 



75 



and so overwhelming the numbers of the enemy. On this night, 
the good Abu Obeidah repeated at once the prayers belonging 
to two separate hours, that his weary soldiers might enjoy un- 
interrupted sleep. 

For several successive days this desperate battle, on which 
hung the fate of Syria, was renewed with various fortunes. In 
the end the fanatic valour of the Moslems prevailed, the Chris- 
tian host was completely routed and fled in all directions. 
Many were overtaken and slain in the difficult passes of the 
mountains ; others perished in a deep part of the river to which 
they were decoyed by one of their own people, in revenge for 
an injury. Manuel, the imperial general, fell by the hand of a 
Moslem named Noman Ibn Alkamah. 

Abu Obeidah went over the battle-field in person, seeing that 
the wounded Moslems w T ere well taken care of, and the slain 
decently interred. He was perplexed for a time on finding 
some heads without bodies, to know whether they were Mos- 
lems or infidels, but finally prayed over them at a venture and 
had them buried like the rest. 

In dividing the spoils, Abu Obeidah, after setting aside one- 
fifth for the Caliph and the public treasury, allotted to each foot 
soldier one portion and to each horseman three ; two for him- 
self and one for his steed; but for each horse of the pure Arabian 
breed, he allowed a double portion. This last allotment met 
with opposition, but was subsequently confirmed by the Caliph, 
on account of the superior value of true Arabian horses. 

Such was the great battle fought on the banks of the Yer- 
mouk, near the city of that name, in the month of November, 
A.d. 636, and in the fifteenth year of the Hegira. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
The Moslem invaders reposed for a month at Damascus from 
the toil of conquest, during w 7 hich time Abu Obeidah sent to 
the Caliph to know whether he should undertake the siege of 
Csesarea, or Jerusalem. Ali was with Omar at the time, and 
advised the instant siege of the latter ; for such, he said, had 
been the intention of the prophet. The enterprise against Jeru- 
salem was as a holy war to the Moslems, for they reverenced it 
as an ancient seat of prophecy and revelation, connected with 
the histories of Moses, Jesus, and Mahomet, and sanctified by 
containing the tombs of several of the ancient prophets. The 
Caliph adopted the advice of Ali, and ordered Abu Obeidah to 
lead his army into Palestine, and lay siege to Jerusalem. 



76 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



On receiving these orders, Abu Obeidah sent forward Yezed 
Ahu Sofian, with five thousand men, to commence the siege, and 
for five successive days detached after him considerable rein- 
forcements. The people of Jerusalem saw the approach of 
these portentous invaders, who were spreading such consterna- 
tion throughout the East, but they made no sally to oppose 
them, nor sent out any one to parley, but planted engines on 
their walls, and prepared for vigorous defence. Yezed ap- 
proached the city and summoned it by sound of trumpet, pro- 
pounding the customary terms, profession of the faith or tribute: 
both were rejected with disdain. The Moslems would have 
made instant assault, but Yezed had no such instructions : he 
encamped, therefore, and waited until orders arrived from Abu 
Obeidah to attack the city, when he made the necessary pre- 
parations. 

At cock-crow in the morning the Moslem host was mar- 
shalled, the leaders repeated the matin prayer each at the head 
of his battalion, and all, as if by one consent, with a loud 
voice gave the verse from the Koran:* " Enter ye, oh people! 
into the holy land which Allah hath destined for you." 

For ten days they made repeated but unavailing attacks ; on 
the eleventh day Abu Obeidah brought the whole army to 
their aid. He immediately sent a written summons requiring 
the inhabitants to believe in the unity of God, the divine mis- 
sion of Mahomet, the resurrection and final judgment : or else 
to acknowledge allegiance, and pay tribute to the Caliph: 
" otherwise," concluded the letter, " I will bring men against 
you, who love death better than you love wine or swine's flesh ; 
nor will I leave you, God willing, until I have destroyed your 
fighting men, and made slaves of your children." 

The summons was addressed to the magistrates and principal 
inhabitants of iElia, for so Jerusalem was named after the 
emperor iElius Adrian, when he rebuilt that city. 

Sophronius, the Christian patriarch, or bishop of Jerusalem, 
replied that this was the holy city, and the holy land, and that 
whoever entered either, for a hostile purpose, was an offender in 
the eyes of God. He felt some confidence in setting the in- 
vaders at defiance, for the walls and towers of the city had been 
diligently strengthened, and the garrison had been reinforced 
by fugitives from Yermouk, and from various parts of Syria. 

* These words are from the fifth chapter of the Koran, where Ma- 
homet puts them into the mouth of Moses, as addressed to the children 
of Israel. 



OMAR. 



The city, too, was strong in its situation, being surrounded by 
deep ravines and a broken country; and above all there was a 
pious incentive to courage and perseverance in defending the 
sepulchre of Christ. 

Four wintry months elapsed; every day there were sharp 
skirmisliings ; the besiegers were assailed by sallying parties, 
annoyed by the engines on the walls, and harassed by the 
inclement weather ; still they carried on the siege with undi- 
minished spirit, At length the Patriarch Sempronius held a 
parley from the walls with Abu Obeidah. " Do you not know," 
said he, " that this city is holy ; and that whoever offers vio- 
lence to it, draws upon his head the vengeance of Heaven? 5 ' 

4i We know it," replied Abu Obeidah, " to be the house of 
the prophets, where their bodies lie interred ; we know it to 
be the place whence our prophet Mahomet made his nocturnal 
ascent to heaven ; and we know that we are more worthy of 
possessing it than you are, nor will we raise the siege until 
Allah has delivered it into our hands, as he has done many 
other places." 

Seeing there was no further hope, the patriarch consented 
to give up the city, on condition that the Caliph would come 
in person to take possession and sign the articles of surrender. 

When this unusual stipulation was made known to the Caliph, 
he held a council with his friends. Othman despised the people 
of Jerusalem, and was for refusing* their terms, but Ali repre- 
sented the sanctity and importance of the place in the eves of 
the Christians, which might prompt them to reinforce it, and 
to make a desperate defence if treated with indignity. Besides, 
he added, the presence of the Caliph would cheer and inspirit 
the army in their long absence, and after the hardships of a 
wintry campaign. 

The words of Ali had their weight with the Caliph : though 
certain Arabian writers pretend that he was chiefly moved by 
a tradition handed down in Jerusalem from days of yore, which 
said, that a man of his name, religion, and personal appearance, 
should conquer the holy city. Whatever may have been his 
inducements, the Caliph resolved to receive, in person, the sur- 
render of Jerusalem. He accordingly appointed Ali to officiate 
in his place during his absence from Medina; then, having 
prayed at the mosque, and paid a pious visit to the tomb of the 
prophet, he set out on his journey. 

The progress of this formidable potentate, who already held 



78 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



the destinies of empires in his grasp, and had the plunder of 
the Orient at his command, is characteristic of the primitive 
days of Mahometanism, and reveals, in some measure, the secret 
of its success. He travelled on a red or sorrel camel, across 
which was slung an alforja, or wallet, with a huge sack or 
pocket at each end, something like the modern saddle-bags. 
One pocket contained dates and dried fruits, the other a pro- 
vision called sawik, which was nothing more than barley, rice, 
or wheat, parched or sodden. Before him hung a leathern 
bottle, or sack, for water, and behind him a wooden platter. 
His companions, without distinction of rank, ate with him out 
of the same dish, using their fingers according to Oriental 
usage. He slept at night on a mat spread out under a tree, 
or under a common Bedouin tent of hair-cloth, and never re- 
sumed his march until he had offered up the morning prayer. 

As he journeyed through Arabia in this simple way, he 
listened to the complaints of the people, redressed their griev- 
ances, and administered justice with sound judgment and a 
rigid hand. Information was brought to him of an Arab who 
was married to two sisters, a practice not unusual among idola- 
ters, but the man was now a Mahometan. Omar cited the 
culprit and his two wives into his presence, and taxed him 
roundly with his offence ; but he declared his ignorance that it 
was contrary to the law of the prophet. 

" Thou liest!" said Omar, "thou shalt part with one of them 
instantly, or lose thy head." 

" Evil was the day that I embraced such a religion," mut- 
tered the culprit. " Of what advantage has it been to me ?" 

" Come nearer to me," said Omar ; and on his approaching, 
the Caliph bestowed two wholesome blows on his head with his 
walking-staff. 

" Enemy of God and of thyself," cried he, " let these blows 
reform thy manners, and teach thee to speak with more rever- 
ence of a religion ordained by Allah, and acknowledged by the 
best of his creatures." 

He then ordered the offender to choose between his wives, 
and finding him at a loss which to prefer, the matter was de- 
termined by lot, and he was dismissed by the Caliph with this 
parting admonition: " Whoever professes Islam, and afterwards 
renounces it, is punishable with death ; therefore take heed to 
your faith. And as to your wife's sister, whom you have put 
away, if ever I hear that you have meddled with her, you shall 
be stoned." 



79 



At another place he beheld a number of men exposed to 
the burning heat of the sun by their Moslem conquerors, as a 
punishment for failing to pay their tribute. Finding, on 
inquirv. that thev were eutirelv destitute of means, he ordered 
them to be released: and turning reproachfully to their oppres- 
sors, " Compel no man/' said he. ** to more than they can bear ; 
for I heard the apostle of God say. he who afflicts his fellow- 
man in this world, will be punished with the fire of Jehennam.'*' 

"While vet within a day's journey of Jerusalem. Abu Obei- 
dah came to meet him. and conduct him to the camp. The 
Caliph proceeded with due deliberation, never forgetting his 
duties as a priest and teacher of Islam. In the morning he 
said the usual pravers. and preached a sermon, in which he 
spoke of the securitv of those whom God should lead in the 
light way : but added, that there was no help for such as God 
should lead into error. 

A grev-headed Christian priest, who sat before him. could 
not resist the opportunity to criticise the language of the Caliph 
preacher. *•' God leads no man into error.*' said he. aloud. 

Omar deigned no direct reply, but. tinning to those around. 

Strike off that old man's head.'* said he. " if he repeats his 
words.*' 

The old man was discreet and held his peace. There was no 
arguing against the sword of Islam. 

On his way to the camp Omar beheld a number of Arabs, 
who had thrown bye the simple garb of their countrv. and 
arrayed themselves in the silken spoils of Syria. He saw the 
danger of this luxury and effeminacy, and ordered that thev 
should be dragged with their faces in the dirt, and their silken 
garments torn from their backs. 

When he came in sight of Jerusalem he lifted up his voice 
and exclaimed, •'•Allah Achbar ! God is mighty! God grant 
us an easy conquest !'' Then commanding his tent to be pitched, 
he dismounted from his camel and sat clown within it on the 
ground. The Christians thronged to see the sovereign of this 
new and irresistible people, who were overrunning and subduing 
the earth. The 3Ios!ems. fearful of an attempt at assassination, 
would have kept them at a distance, but Omar rebuked their 
fears. " Nothing will befall us but what God hath decreed. 
Let the faithful trust in him." 

The arrival of the Caliph was followed bv immediate capi- 
tulation. When the deputies from Jerusalem were admitted 



80 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



to a parley, they were astonished to find this dreaded potentate 
a bald-headed man, simply elad, and seated on the ground in a 
tent of hair-cloth. 

The articles of surrender were drawn up in writing by Omar, 
and served afterwards as a model for the Moslem leaders in 
other conquests. The Christians were to build no new churches 
in the surrendered territory. The church doors were to be set 
open to travellers, and free egress permitted to Mahometans by 
day and night. The bells should only toll, and not ring, and 
no crosses should be erected on the churches, nor shown pub- 
licly in the streets. The Christians should not teach the 
Koran to their children; nor speak openly of their religion; 
nor attempt to make proselytes ; nor hinder their kinsfolk 
from embracing Islam. They shoidd not assume the Moslem 
dress, either caps, slippers, or turbans, nor part their hair like 
Moslems, but should always be distinguished by girdles. They 
should not use the Arabian language in inscriptions on their 
signets, nor salute after the Moslem manner, nor be called by 
Moslem surnames. They should rise on the entrance of a 
Moslem, and remain standing until he should be seated. They 
should entertain every Moslem traveller three days gratis. 
They should sell no wine, bear no arms, and use no saddle in 
riding ; neither should they have any domestic who had been 
in Moslem service. 

Such were the degrading conditions imposed upon the proud 
city of Jerusalem, once the glory and terror of the East, by 
the leader of a host of wandering Arabs. They were the con- 
ditions generally imposed by the Moslems in their fanatical 
career of conquest. Utter scorn and abhorrence of their reli- 
gious adversaries formed one of the main pillars of their faith. 

The Christians having agreed to surrender on these terms, 
the Caliph gave them, under his own hand, an assurance of pro- 
tection in their lives and fortunes, the use of their churches, and 
the exercise of their religion. 

Omar entered the once splendid city of Solomon on foot, 
in his simple Arab garb, with his walking-staff in his hand, 
and accompanied by the venerable Sophronius, with whom he 
talked familiarly, inquiring about the antiquities and public 
edifices. The worthy patriarch treated the conqueror with all 
outward deference, but, if we may trust the words of a Chris- 
tian historian, he loathed the dirty Arab in his heart, and was 
particularly disgusted with his garb of coarse woollen, patched 



OMAR. 



SI 



with sheepskin. His disgust was almost irrepressible when 
they entered the church of the Resurrection, and Sophronius 
beheld the Caliph, in his filthy attire, seated in the midst of 
the sacred edifice. u This, of a truth," exclaimed he, "is the 
abomination of desolation predicted by Daniel the prophet, 
standing in the holy place." 

It is added that, to pacify the cleanly scruples of the patri- 
arch, Omar consented to put on clean raiment which he offered 
him, until his own garments were washed. 

An instance of the strict good faith of Omar is related as 
occurring on this visit to the Christian temples. While he was 
standing with the patriarch in the church of the Resurrection, 
one of the stated hours for Moslem worship arrived, and he de- 
manded where he might pray. " Where you now are," replied 
the patriarch. Omar, however, refused, and went forth. The 
patriarch conducted him to the church of Constantine, and 
spread a mat for him to pray there; but again he refused. On 
going forth, he knelt, and prayed on the flight of steps leading 
down from the east gate of the church. This done, he turned 
to the patriarch, and gave him a generous reason for his con- 
duct. " Had I prayed in either of the churches," said he, " the 
Moslems would have taken possession of it, and consecrated it 
as a mosque." 

So scrupulous was he in observing his capitulations respecting 
the churches, that he gave the patriarch a writing, forbidding 
the Moslems to pray upon the steps where he had prayed, ex- 
cept one person at a time. The zeal of the faithful, however, 
outstripped their respect for his commands, and one-half of the 
steps and porch was afterwards included in a mosque built over 
the spot which he had accidentally sanctified. 

The Caliph next sought the place where the temple of Solo- 
mon had stood, where he founded a mosque ; which, in after 
times, being enlarged and enriched by succeeding Caliphs, be- 
came one of the noblest edifices of Islam worship, and second 
only to the magnificent mosque of Cordova. 

The surrender of Jerusalem took place in the seventeenth 
year of the Hegira. and the six hundred and thirty-seventh year 
of the Christian era. 

CHAPTER XIX. 
The Caliph Omar remained ten days in Jerusalem, regulat- 
ing the great scheme of Islam conquest. To complete the sub- 

G 



82 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



jugation of Syria, he divided it into two parts. Southern Syria, 
consisting of Palestine and the maritime towns, he gave in 
charge to Yezed Ibn Abu Sofian, with a considerable portion of 
the army to enable him to master it ; while Abu Obeidah, with 
a larger force, had orders promptly to reduce all Northern 
Syria, comprising the country lying between Hauran and 
Aleppo. At the same time, Amru Ibn al Aass, with a body of 
Moslem troops, was ordered to invade Egypt, which venerable 
and once mighty empire was then in a state of melancholy 
decline. Such were the great plans of Islam conquest in these 
regions, while at the same time, Saad Ibn xA.bi Wakkas, another 
of Omar's generals, was pursuing a career of victories in the 
Persian territories. 

The return of Omar to Medina was hailed with joy by the 
inhabitants, for they had regarded with great anxiety and ap- 
prehension his visit to Jerusalem. They knew the salubrity of 
the climate, the fertility of the country, and the sacred charac- 
ter of the city, containing the tombs of the prophets, and being 
the place, according to Moslem belief, where all mankind were 
to be assembled in the day of the resurrection. They had 
feared, therefore, that he would be tempted to fix his residence, 
for the rest of his days, in that consecrated city. Great was 
their joy, therefore, when they saw their Caliph re-enter their 
gates in his primitive simplicity, clad in his coarse Arab garb, 
and seated on his camel with his wallets of dried fruits and 
sodden corn, his leathern bottle, and his wooden platter. 

Abu Obeidah departed from Jerusalem shortly after the 
Caliph, and marched with his army to the north, receiving in 
the course of his progress through Syria the submission of the 
cities of Kennesrin and Alhadir, the inhabitants of which ran- 
somed themselves and their possessions for five thousand ounces 
of gold, the like quantity of silver, two thousand suits of silken 
raiment, and as much tigs and aloes as would load five hundred 
mules ; he then proceeded toward the city of Aleppo, which 
the Caliph had ordered him to besiege. The inhabitants of this 
place were much given to commerce, and had amassed great 
■wealth; they trembled, therefore, at the approach of these 
plundering sons of the desert, who had laid so many cities under 
contribution. 

The city of Aleppo was walled and fortified ; but it depended 
chiefly for defence upon its citadel, which stood without the 
walls and apart from the city, on an artificial hill or mound, 



OMAR. 



83 



shaped like a truncated cone or sugar-loaf, and faced with 
stone. The citadel was of great size, and commanded all the 
adjacent country; it was encompassed by a deep moat, which 
could be filled from springs of water, and was considered the 
strongest castle in all Syria. The governor, who had been ap- 
pointed to this place by the Emperor Heraclius, and who had 
held all the territory between Aleppo and the Euphrates, had 
lately died, leaving two sons, Youkenna and Johannas, who re- 
sided in the castle and succeeded to his command. They were 
completely opposite in character and conduct. Youkenna, the 
elder of the two, was a warrior and managed the government, 
while Johannas passed his life in almost monkish retirement, 
devoting himself to study, to religious exercises, and to acts of 
charity. On the approach of the Moslems Johannas sympathised 
with the fears of the wealthy merchants, and advised his brother 
to compound peaceably with the enemy for a ransom in money. 
" You talk like a monk," replied the fierce Youkenna ; " you 
know nothing that is due to the honour of a soldier. Have we 
not strong walls^a brave garrison, and ample wealth to sustain 
us, and shall we meanly buy a peace without striking a blow? 
Shut yourself up with your books and beads ; study and pray, 
and leave the defence of the place to me." 

The next day he summoned his troops, distributed money 
among them, and having thus roused their spirit, C4 The Arabs,' ' 
said he, " have divided their forces; some are in Palestine, some 
have gone to Egypt, it can be but a mere detachment that is 
coming against us; I am for meeting them on the way, and 
giving them battle before they come near to Aleppo." His 
troops answered his harangue with shouts, so he put himself at 
the head of twelve thousand men, and sallied forth to encounter 
the Moslems on their march. 

Scarcely had this reckless warrior departed with his troops, 
when the timid and trading part of the community gathered 
together, and took advantage of his absence to send thirty of 
the most important and opulent of the inhabitants to Abu 
Obeidah, with an offer of a ransom for the city. These worthies, 
when they entered the Moslem camp, were astonished at the 
order and tranquillity that reigned throughout, under the wise 
regulations of the commander-in-chief. They were received by 
Abu Obeidah with dignified composure, and informed him that 
they had come without the knowledge of Youkenna, their war- 
like governor, who had sallied out on a foray, and whose tyranny 

G 2 



84 



THE SUCCESSORS OE MAHOMET. 



they found insupportable. After much discussion, Abu Obeidah 
offered indemnity to the city of Aleppo, on condition that they 
should pay a certain sum of money, furnish provisions to his 
army, make discovery of everything within their knowledge pre- 
judicial to his interests, and prevent Youkenna from retorting 
to the castle. They agreed to all the terms except that relating 
to the castle, which it was impossible for them to execute. 

Abu Obeidah dispensed with that point, but exacted from 
them all an oath to fulfil punctually the other conditions ; as- 
suring them of his protection and kindness, shoidd they observe 
it ; but adding that, shoidd they break it, they need expect no 
quarter. He then offered them an escort, which thev declined, 
preferring to return quietly by the way thev had come. 

In the mean time \ oukenna, on the day after his sahving 
forth, fell in with the advance guard of the Moslem army, con- 
sisting of one thousand men under Caab Ibn Darnarrah. He 
came upon them by surprise while watering their horses, and 
resting themselves on the grass in negligent security. A de- 
sperate fight was the consequence; the Moslems at first were 
successful, but were overpowered by numbers. One hundred 
and seventy were slain, most of the rest wounded, and their 
frequent cries of "Ya Mahommed! Ya 31ahommed!" (Oh 
Mahomet! Oh 3Iahomet!) showed the extremity of their de- 
spair. Xight alone saved them from total massacre; but 
Youkenna resolved to pursue the work of extermination with 
the morning light. In the course of the night, however, one of 
Iris scouts brought him word of the peaceful negotiation carried 
on by the citizens of Aleppo during his absence. Boiling with 
rage, he gave up all further thought about Caab and his men, 
and hastening back to Aleppo, drew up his forces, and threatened 
to put everything to fire and sword unless the inhabitants re- 
nounced the treatv, joined him against the Moslems, and gave 
up the devisers of the late traitorous schemes. On their hesitat- 
ing to comply with his demands, he charged on them with his 
troops, and put three hundred to the sword. The cries and 
lamentations of the multitude reached the pious Johannas in his 
retirement in the castle. He hastened to the scene of carnage, 
and sought by prayers and supplications, and pious remon- 
strances, to stay the fury of his brother. " What !" cried the 
fierce Youkenna, " shall I spare traitors who are leagued with 
the enemy, and selling us for gold?" 

4i Alas 1" replied Johannas, u they have only sought their own 
safety ; they are not fighting men." 



OMAR. 



85 



"Base wretch!" cried Youkenna in a frenzy, "'tis thou hast 
been the contriver of this infamous treason." 

His naked sword was in his hand ; his actions were even more 
frantic than his words, and in an instant the head of his meek 
and pious brother rolled on the pavement. 

The people of Aleppo were in danger of suffering' more from 
the madness of the army than they had apprehended from the 
sword of the invader, when a part of the Moslem army appeared 
in sight led on by Khaled. A bloody battle ensued before the 
walls of the town, three thousand of Youkenna' s troops were 
slain, and he was obliged to take refuge with a considerable 
number within the castle, where he placed engines on the walls, 
and prepared to defend himself to the last extremity. 

A council was held in the Moslem camp. Abu Obeidah was 
disposed to besiege the citadel, and starve out the garrison, but 
Khaled, with his accustomed promptness, was for instant assault, 
before the emperor could send reinforcements and supplies. As 
usual his bold counsel prevailed : the castle was stormed, and 
he headed the assault. The conflict was one of the fiercest in 
the wars of Syria. The besieged hurled huge stones from the 
battlements; many of the assailants were slain, many maimed, 
and Khaled was compelled to desist from the attack. 

In the dead of that very night, when the fires of the camp 
were extinguished, and the Moslems were sleeping after their 
hard-fought battle, Youkenna sallied forth with his troops, fell 
on the enemy sword in hand, killed sixty, and bore off fifty 
prisoners : Khaled, however, was hard on his traces, and killed 
above a hundred of his men before they could shelter them- 
selves within the castle. On the next morning Youkenna 
paraded his fifty prisoners on the walls of the citadel, ordered 
them to be beheaded, and threw their heads among the besiegers. 

Learning from his spies that a detachment of Moslems were 
foraging the country, Youkenna sent out, secretly, a troop of 
horse in the night, who fell upon the foragers, killed nearly 
seven score of them, slew or hamstrung their camels, mules, 
and horses, and then hid themselves in the recesses of the 
mountains, awaiting the night to get back to the castle. 

Some fugitives carried tidings of this skirmish to the camp, 
and Khaled and Derar, with a troop of horse, were soon at the 
scene of combat. They found the ground strewed with the 
dead bodies of men and animals, learnt from some peasants 
whither the enemy had retreated, and were informed of a 



86 



THE SUCCESSORS OF 3IAHOMET. 



narrow defile by which they must return to the castle. Kha- 
led and Derar stationed their troops in ambush in this defile. 
Late in the night they perceived the enemy advancing. They 
suffered them to get completely entangled in the defile, when, 
closing suddenly upon them on every side, they slew a number 
on the spot, and took three hundred prisoners. These were 
brought in triumph to the Moslem camp, where they would 
have redeemed themselves with ample ransom, but then heads 
were all stricken off in front of the castle, by way of retaliation. 

For five months did the siege of this fortress continue ; all 
the attacks of the Moslems were repulsed, all their stratagems 
discovered and circumvented ; for Youkenna had spies in the 
very camp of the enemy, who gave him intelligence by word, or 
signal, of every plan and movement. Abu Obeidah despaired 
of reducing this impregnable castle, which impeded him in his 
career of conquest, and wrote to the Caliph, proposing to 
abandon the siege and proceed against Antioch. The Caliph, 
in reply, ordered him by no means to desist, as that would give 
courage to the enemy, but to press the siege hard, and trust 
the event to God. As an additional reliance, he sent him a 
reinforcement of horse and foot, with twenty camels to facilitate 
the march of the infantry. Notwithstanding all this aid, the 
siege was continued for seven-and-fortv days, with no greater 
prospect of success. 

While in this state of vexatious impediment and delay, Abu 
Obeidah was one day accosted by one of the newly arrived 
soldiers, who told him that, if he would give him thirty men, 
all strong and valiant, he would pledge his head to put him in 
possession of the castle. The man who made this singular ap- 
plication was named Damas; he was of herculean strength and 
gigantic size, a brave soldier, and of great natural sagacity, 
although unimproved by education, as lie was born a slave. 
Klialed backed his application, having heard of great exploits 
performed by him in Arabia. Aba Obeidah, in his perplexi- 
ties, was willing to adopt any expedient to get possession of 
this obstinate castle, and the Arabs were always prone to 
strange and extravagant stratagems in their warfare. He ac- 
cordingly placed thirty of his bravest men under command of 
Damas, charging them to obey him implicitly, notwithstanding* 
his base condition; at the same time, in compliance with his 
request, he removed with his army to the distance of a league., 
as though about to abandon the siege. 



OMAE. 



87 



It was now night, and Dam as concealed his thirty men near 
to the castle, charging them not to sir, nor utter a sound. He 
then went out alone and brought in six Christian prisoners, one 
after another. He questioned them in Arabic, but they were 
ignorant of the language, and replied in their own tongue. 
" The curse of Allah on these Christian dogs and their barbarous 
jargon, which no man can understand," cried the rude Arab, 
and in his rage he smote off their heads. 

He went forth again, and saw a man sliding down the wall, 
whom he seized the moment he touched the ground. He was 
a Christian Arab, and was endeavouring to escape from the 
tyranny of Youkenna, and from him Damas obtained the infor- 
mation he desired. He instantly despatched two men to Abu 
Obeidah, requesting him to send him some horse about sunrise. 
He then took a goat-skin from his wallet, with which he covered 
his back and shoulders, and a dry crust of bread in his hand, 
and crept on all-fours close to the wall of the castle. His men 
crept silently after him. When he heard a noise he gnawed 
his crust with a sound like that of a dog gnawing a bone, and 
his followers remained motionless. In this way he reached a 
part of the castle wall which was easiest of access. Then 
seating liimself on the ground, he made one of his men seat 
himself on his shoulders, and so on until seven were thus 
mounted on each other. Then he who was uppermost stood 
upright, and so did the others in succession, until Damas rose 
from the ground upon his feet, and sustained the whole by his 
wondrous strength, each rendering such aid as he could by 
bearing against the wall. The uppermost man was now en- 
abled to scramble upon the battlement, where he foimd a Chris- 
tian sentinel drunk and asleep. He seized and threw him 
down to the Moslems below the wall, who instantly despatched 
him. He then unfolded his turban and drew up the man below 
him, and they two the next, and so on until Damas was also 
on the wall. 

Damas now enjoined silence on them all, and left them. He 
found two other sentinels sleeping, whom he despatched with 
his dagger, and then made his way to an aperture for the dis- 
charge of arrows, looking through which he beheld Youkenna 
in a spacious chamber, richly clad, seated on tapestry of scarlet 
silk, flowered with gold, drinking and making merry with a 
large company ; for it would seem as if, on the apparent de- 
parture of the besieging army, the whole castle had been given 
up to feasting and carousing. 



88 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



Damas considered the company too numerous to be attacked; 
returning to his men, therefore, he explored cautiously with 
them the interior of the castle. Coming suddenly upon the 
guards at the main entrance, who had no apprehension of danger 
from within, they killed them, threw open the gate, let down 
the drawbridge, and were joined by the residue of their party. 
The castle was by this time alarmed: the garrison, half drunk 
and half asleep, came rushing from all quarters in wild confu- 
sion. The Moslems defended themselves stoutly on the draw- 
bridge and in the narrow pass of the barbican until the dawn of 
day, when a shout of Allah Achbar was heard, and Khaled, with 
a troop of horse, came thundering through the gate. 

The Christians threw down their arms and cried for mercy. 
Khaled offered them their choice, death or the faith of Islam. 
Youkenna was the first to raise his finger and pronounce the 
formula; his example was followed by several of his leading 
men, whereupon their wives and children and property were 
secured to them. The castle having been taken by storm, was 
completely plundered, and the spoils were divided among the 
army, excepting the usual fifth part reserved for the Caliph. 
Damas and his brave companions, who had been almost cut to 
pieces in the fight, were praised to the skies, nor would Abu 
Obeidah stir with his host until those of them who survived were 
out of danger from their wounds. 

CHAPTER XX. 
It is a circumstance worthy of remark in the history both of 
Mahomet and his successors, that the most inveterate enemies 
of the Islam faith, when once converted to it, even though their 
conversion were by the edge of the sword, that great Moslem 
instrument of persuasion, became its faithful defenders. Such 
was the case with Youkenna, who, from the time he embraced 
Islam with the Arab scimetar at his throat, became as determined 
a champion of its doctrines as he had before been an opponent. 
Like all new converts, he was anxious to give striking proofs of 
his zeal: he had slain a brother in supporting his old faith, he 
now proposed to betray a cousin in promoting the interests of the 
new. This cousin, whose name was Theodorus, was governor 
of an important town and fortress, named Aazaz, situated at no 
great distance from Aleppo, and which it was necessary for the 
Moslems to secure before they left that neighbourhood. The 
castle was of great strength, and had a numerous garrison, but 



OMAR. 



89 



Youkenna offered to put it into the hands of Abu Obeidah by 
stratagem. His plan was, to have one hundred Moslems dis- 
guised as Christian soldiers : with these he would pretend to fly 
to the fortress of Aazaz for refuge ; being pursued at a distance 
by a large body of Arabs, who, after coming in sight of the 
place, would appear to retire in despair, but would conceal 
themselves in the neighbourhood. His cousin Theodorus, who 
knew nothing of his conversion, would receive him with perfect 
confidence : at a concerted hour of the night he and his men 
would fall suddenly upon the garrison, and at the same time 
throw open the gates to the party without the walls, and, be- 
tween them both, he had no doubt of carrying the place with- 
out difficulty. 

Abu Obeidah held counsel with Khaled, who pronounced the 
stratagem apt and feasible, provided the sincerity of Youkenna's 
conversion might be depended upon. The new proselyte man- 
aged to obtain their confidence, and was despatched on his enter- 
prise with one hundred chosen men, selected by tens from ten 
tribes of Arabs. After they had departed a sufficient time, one 
thousand men were sent in pretended pursuit, headed by Malec 
Alashtar, who was instructed in the whole stratagem. 

These Moslem wars were always a tissue of plot and counter- 
plot, of which this whole story of Youkenna is a striking example. 
Scarce had this scheme of treachery been devised hi the Moslem 
camp, when the distant governor of Aazaz was apprised of it, 
with a success and celerity that almost seemed like magic. He 
had at that time a spy in the Moslem camp, an Arab of the tribe 
of Gassan, who sent him a letter, tied under the wing of a carrier 
pigeon, informing him of the apostasy of Youkenna, and of his 
intended treachery; though the spv was ignorant of that part of 
the plan relating to the thousand men under Malec Alashtar. 
On receiving this letter, Theodorus put his town and castle in a 
posture of defence, called in the Christian Arabs of the neigh- 
bouring villages capable of bearing arms, and despatched a 
messenger named Tarik al Gassani to Lucas the prefect of 
Arrawendan, urging him to repair with troops to his assistance. 

Before the arrival of the latter, Youkenna appeared with his 
pretended fugitives before the gates of Aazaz, announcing that 
his castle was taken, and that he and his band were flying 
before pursuers. Theodorus sallied forth on horseback, at the 
head of many of his troops, as if to receive his cousin with all 
due honours. He even alighted from his steed, and, approach- 



90 



THE SUCCESSOR? OF, MAHOMET. 



ing \oukenna in a reverential manner, stooped as if to kiss his 
stirrup : but suddenlv cutting the saddle girth, he pulled him 
with his face on the ground, and in an instant his hundred fol- 
lowers were likewise unhorsed and made prisoners. Theodorus 
then spat in the face of the prostrate \ oukenna. and reproached 
him with his apostasy and treachery; threatening to send him 
to answer for his crimes before the Emperor Heraclius. and to 
put all his followers to the sword. 

In the mean time Tarik al Gassani. the Christian Arab, 
who had been sent by Theodorus to summon the prefect of 
Arrawendan to his aid. had executed his errand, but on the way 
back fell into the hands of Malee. who was lying in ambuscade 

with his thousand men. The sisrht of a naked seimetar drew 

© _ 

from Tarik information that the plot of Youkenna had been 
discovered ; that he had been sent after aid. and that Lucas, 
the prefect of Arrawendan, must be actually on his way with 
five hundred cavalry. 

Profiting by this information. Malec placed his thousand men 
so advantageously, as completely to surprise and capture Lucas 
and his reinforcement, as they were marching in the night. 
He then devised a strategem still to outwit the governor of 
Aazaz. First he disguised his five hundred men in dresses 
taken from their Christian prisoners, and gave them the Chris- 
tian standard of the prefect of Arrawendan. Then summoning 
Tarik the messenger before him. and again displaying the 
seimetar. he exhorted him most earnestly to turn Mahometan. 
There was no resisting his arguments, and Tarik made a full 
and hearty profession of the faith. Malec then ordered him to 
prove his zeal for the good cause by proceeding to Aazaz and 
inforniing Theodorus that the prefect of Arrawendan was at 
hand with a reinforcement of five hundred men. The double- 
faced courier departed on his errand, accompanied by a trusty 
Moslem, who had secret orders to smite off his head if he should 
be found to waver; but there were still other plots at work in 
this tissue of stratagems. 

As Tarik and his companion approached Aazaz, they heard 
great shouting and the sound of trumpets, and this was the 
cause of the change. Theodorus. the governor, had committed 
Youkenna and his men iuto the custody of his son Leon. Xow 
it so happened, that the youth having frequently visited his 
father s kinsmen at the castle of Aleppo, had become violently 
enamoured of the daughter of Youkenna, but had met strong 



OMAR. 9 1 ' 

opposition to his love. The present breach between his father 
and Youkenna threatened to place an inseparable barrier be- 
tween him and the gratification of his passion. Maddened by 
his desires, the youth now offered to Youkenna, if he would 
give him his daughter to wife, to embrace Mahometanisra, and 
to set him and his companions at liberty. The offer was ac- 
cepted. At the dead of the night, when the prisoners were 
armed and liberated, they fell upon the sleeping garrison; a 
tumultuous fight ensued, in the course of which Theodorus was 
slain, by the hand, it is said, of his unnatural son. 

It was in the height of this conflict that Tarik and his com- 
panion arrived at the place, and learning the situation of affairs, 
hastened back to Malec Alashtar with the news. The latter 
hurried on with his troops and came in time to complete the 
capture of the place. He bestowed great praises on Youkenna, 
but the latter taking him by the hand, exclaimed, " Thank 
Allah and this youth." He then related the whole story. The 
pious Malec lifted up his eyes and hands in wonder. " When 
Allah wills a thing," exclaimed he, "he prepares the means." 

Leaving Seid Ibn Amir in command of the place, with You- 
kenna's band of a hundred men as a garrison, Malec Alashtar 
returned to the main army with great booty and many prisoners. 
Youkenna, however, refused to accompany him. He was mor- 
tified at the questionable result of his undertaking against Aazaz, 
the place having been taken by other means than his own, and 
vowed not to show himself in the Moslem camp until he had 
retrieved his credit by some signal blow. Just at this time 
there arrived at Aazaz a foraging party of a thousand Moslems, 
that had been rava^in^ the neighbouring: countrv ; amono- them 
were two hundred renegades, who had apostatised with You- 
kenna, and whose families and effects were in the castle of 
Aleppo. They were the very men for his purpose, and with 
these he marched off to execute one oi his characteristic strata- 
gems at Antioch. 

CHAPTER XXI. 
The city of Antioch was at that time the capital of Syria 
and the seat of the Roman government in the East. It was of 
great extent, surrounded by stone walls and numerous towers, 
and stood in the midst of a fertile country, watered by wells and 
fountains and abundant streams. Here Heraclius held his 
court, and here the Greeks, sunk in luxury and effeminacy, had 



92 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



lost all the military discipline and heroism that had made them 
conquerors in Asia. 

Towards this capital Youkenna proceeded with his band of 
two hundred men : but in the second watch of the niofht he left 
them, after giving them orders to keep on in the high way of 
the caravans, and on arriving at Antioch, to give themselves 
out as fugitives from Aleppo. In the mean time, he, with two 
of his relatives, struck into a by-road, and soon fell into the 
hands of one of the emperor's outposts. On announcing* him- 
self Youkenna, late governor of Aleppo, he was sent under a 
guard of horse to Antioch. 

The Emperor Heraclius, broken in spirit by his late reverses 
and his continual apprehensions, wept at the sight of Youkenna, 
and meekly upbraided him with his apostasy and treason, but 
the latter, with perfect self-possession and effrontery, declared 
that whatever he had done was for the purpose of preserving 
his life for the emperor's service ; and cited the obstinate defence 
he had made at Aleppo, and his present voluntary arrival at 
Antioch, as proofs of his fidelity. The emperor was easily de- 
ceived by a man he had been accustomed to regard as one of his 
bravest and most devoted officers ; and, indeed, the subtle apos- 
tate had the address to incline most of the courtiers in his 
favour. To console him for what was considered his recent 
misfortunes, he was put in command of the two hundred pre- 
tended fugitives of his former garrison, as soon as they arrived 
at Antioch ; he had thus a band of kindred renegades, ready to 
aid him in any desperate treachery. Furthermore, to show his 
entire confidence in him, the emperor sent him with upwards of 
two thousand men. to escort his youngest daughter from a neigh- 
bouring place to the court at Antioch. He performed his mission 
with correctness. As he and his troop were escorting the prin- 
cess, about midnight, the neighing of their horses put them on 
the alert, and sending out scouts, they received intelligence of 
a party of Moslems asleep, with their horses grazing near them. 
They proved to be a body of a thousand Christian Arabs, under 
Haim. son of the apostate Jabalah Ibn al Ayam, who had made 
captives of Derar Ibn al Azwar and a foraging party of ^ two 
hundred 3Ioslems. They all proceeded together to Antioch, 
where the emperor received his daughter with great joy, and 
made Youkenna one of his chief counsellors. 

Derar and his men were brought into the presence of the 
emperor, and commanded to prostrate themselves before him, 



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but they held themselves erect and took no heed of the com- 
mand. It was repeated more peremptorily. " We bow to no 
created being." replied Derar; " the prophet bids us to yield 
adoration to God alone." 

The emperor, struck with this reply, propounded several 
questions touching Mahomet and his doctrines, but Derar, 
whose province did not lie in words, beckoned to Kais Ibn Amir, 
an old grey-headed Moslem, to answer them. A long and 
edifying conference ensued, in which, in reply to the searching 
questions of the emperor, the venerable Kais went into a history 
of the prophet, and of the various modes in which inspiration 
came upon him. Sometimes like the sound of a bell; sometimes 
in the likeness of an angel in human shape ; sometimes in a 
dream ; sometimes like the brightness of the dawning day ; and 
that when it was upon him great drops of sweat rolled from 
his forehead, and a tremor seized upon his limbs. He further- 
more descanted with eloquence upon the miracles of Mahomet, 
of his nocturnal journey to heaven, and his conversation with 
the Most High. The emperor listened with seeming respect to 
all these matters, but they roused the indignation of a bishop 
who was present, and who pronounced Mahomet an impostor. 
Derar took fire in an instant ; if he could not argue, he could 
make use of a soldier's vocabulary, and he roundly gave the 
bishop the lie, and assailed him with all kinds of epithets. In- 
stantly a number of Christian swords flashed from their scab- 
bards, blows were aimed at him from every side ; and, according 
to Moslem accounts, be escaped death only by miracle ; though 
others attribute it to the hurry and confusion of his assailants, 
and to the interference of Youkenna. The emperor was now for 
having him executed on the spot ; but here the good offices of 
Youkenna again saved him, and his execution was deferred. 

In the mean time Abu Obeidah, with his main army, w^as 
making his victorious approaches, and subjecting all Syria to 
his arms. The emperor, in his miserable imbecility and blind 
infatuation, put the treacherous Youkenna in full command of 
the city and army. He would again have executed Derar and 
his fellow-prisoners, but Youkenna suggested that they had 
better be spared to be exchanged for any Christians that might 
be taken by the enemy. They were then, by advice of the 
bishops, taken to one of the churches, and exhorted to embrace 
the Christian faith ; but they obstinately refused. The Arabian 
writers, as usual, give them sententious replies to the questions 



94 



THE SUCCESSORS OE MAHOMET. 



put to them. " What hinders ye," demanded the patriarch, 
" from turning Christians?" "The truth of our religion," re- 
plied they. Heraclius had heard of the mean attire of the 
Caliph Omar, and asked them why, having gained so much 
wealth by his conquests, he did not go richly clad like other 
princes ? They replied, that he cared not for this world, but 
for the world to come, and sought favour in the eyes of God 
alone. " In what kind of a palace does he reside ?" asked the 
emperor. " In a house built of mud." " Who are his attend- 
ants?" " Beggars and the poor." " What tapestry does he 
sit upon?" "Justice and equity." "What is his throne?" 
" Abstinence and true knowledge." " What is his treasure?" 
" Trust in God." " And who are his guard?" " The bravest 
of the Unitarians." 

Of all the prisoners one only could be induced to swerve 
from his faith ; and he was a youth fascinated by the beauty 
and the unveiled charms of the Greek women. He was bap- 
tised with triumph ; the bishops strove who most should honour 
him, and the emperor gave him a horse, a beautiful damsel to 
wife, and enrolled him in the army of Christian Arabs, com- 
manded by the renegade Jabalah; but he was upbraided in 
bitter terms by his father, who was one of the prisoners, and 
ready to die in the faith of Islam. 

The emperor now reviewed his army, which was drawn up 
outside of the walls, and at the head of every battalion was a 
wooden oratory with a crucifix ; while a precious crucifix out 
of the main church, exhibited only on extraordinary occasions, 
was borne as a sacred standard before the treacherous You- 
kenna. One of the main dependencies of Heraclius for the 
safety of Antioch was in the Iron Bridge, so called from its 
great strength. It was a bridge of stone across the river 
Orontes, guarded by two towers and garrisoned by a great 
force, having not less than three hundred officers. The fate 
of this most important pass shows the degeneracy of Greek 
discipline and the licentiousness of the soldiery, to which in a 
great measure has been attributed the rapid successes of the 
Moslems. An officer of the court was charged to visit this 
fortress each day, and see that everything was in order. On 
one of his visits, he found those who had charge of the towers 
drinking and revelling, whereupon he ordered them to be 
punished with fifty stripes each. They treasured the disgrace 
in their hearts ; the Moslem army approached to lay siege to 



OMAR. 



95 



that formidable fortress, and when the emperor expected to 
hear of a long* and valiant resistance, he was astonished by 
the tidings that the Iron Bridge had been surrendered without 
a blow. 

Heraclius now lost heart altogether. Instead of calling a 
council of his generals, he assembled the bishops and wealthiest 
citizens in the cathedral, and wept over the affairs of Syria. 
It was a time for dastard counsel ; the apostate Jabalah pro- 
posed the assassination of the Caliph Omar, as a means of 
throwing the affairs of the Saracens into confusion. The em- 
peror was weak enough to consent, and Vathek Ibn Mosapher, 
a bold young Arab of the tribe of Jabalah, was despatched to 
Medina to effect the treacherous deed. The Arabian historians 
give a miraculous close to this undertaking. Arriving at Me- 
dina, Vathek concealed himself in a tree, without the walls, at 
a place where the Caliph was accustomed to walk after the 
hour of prayers. After a time Omar approached the place, and 
lay down to sleep near the foot of the tree. The assassin drew 
his dagger, and was descending, when he beheld a lion walking 
roimd the Caliph, licking his feet and guarding him as he slept. 
When he woke the lion went away, upon which Vathek, con- 
vinced that Omar was under the protection of Heaven, hastened 
down from the tree, kissed his hand in token of allegiance, re- 
vealed his treacherous errand, and avowed his conversion to the 
Islam faith. 

The surrender of the Iron Bridge had laid open Antioch to 
the approach of Abu Obeidah, and he advanced in battle array 
to where the Christian army was drawn up beneath its walls. 
Nestorius, one of the Christian commanders, sallied forth from 
among the troops and defied the Moslems to single combat. 
Damas, the herculean warrior, who had taken the castle of 
Aleppo, spurred forward to meet him, but his horse stumbled 
and fell with him, and he was seized as the prisoner of Xes- 
torius, and conveyed to his tent, where he was bound hand and 
foot. Dehac, another Moslem, took his place, and a brave fight 
ensued between him and Nestorius. The parties, however, were 
so well matched, that, after fighting for a long time imtil both 
were exhausted, they parted by mutual consent. While this 
fight was going on the soldiers, horse and foot, of either army, 
thronged to see it, and in the tumult the tent of Nestorius was 
thrown down. There were but three servants left in charge of 
it. Fearful of the anger of their master, they hastened to set 



96 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



it up again, and loosened the bands of Damas that he might 
assist them ; but the moment he was free, he arose in Ins giant 
strength, seized two of the attendants, one in each hand, dashed 
their heads against the head of the third, and soon laid them 
all lifeless on the ground. Then opening a chest, he arrayed 
himself in a dress belonging to Xestorius, armed himself with a 
sabre, sprang on a horse that stood ready saddled, and cut his 
way through the Christian Arabs of Jabalah to the Moslem 
host. 

While these things were happening without the walls, treason 
was at work in the city. Youkenna, who commanded there, 
set free Derar and his fellow -prisoners, furnished them with 
weapons, and joined to them his own band of renegadoes. The 
tidings of this treachery, and the apprehension of revolt among 
his own troops, struck despair to the heart of Heraclius. He 
had been terrified by a dream, in which he had found himself 
thrust from his throne, and his crown falling from his head ; 
the fulfilment appeared to be at hand. Without waiting to 
withstand the evil, he assembled a few domestics, made a secret 
retreat to the sea-shore, and set sail for Constantinople. 

The generals of Heraclius, more brave than their emperor, 
fought a pitched battle beneath the walls ; but the treachery 
of Youkenna, and the valour of Derar and his men, who fell 
on them unawares, rendered their gallant struggle unavailing ; 
the people of Antioch, seeing the battle lost, capitulated for the 
safety of their city at the cost of three hundred thousand golden 
ducats, and Abu Obeidah entered the ancient capital of Syria 
in triumph. This event took place on the 21st of August, in 
the year of redemption 638. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The discreet Abu Obeidah feared to expose his troops to the 
enervating delights of Antioch, and to the allurements of the 
Greek women, and, after three days of repose and refreshment, 
marched forth from that luxurious city. He wrote a letter to 
the Caliph, relating his important conquest, and the flight of 
the Emperor Heraclius; and added, that he discovered a 
grievous propensity among his troops to intermarry with the 
beautiful Grecian females, which he had forbidden them to do, 
as contrary to the injunctions of the Koran. 

The epistle was delivered to Omar just as he was departing 
on a pilgrimage to Mecca, accompanied by the widows of the 



OMAR. 



97 



prophet. "When he had read the letter he offered prayers and 
thanksgiving to Allah, but wept over Abu Obeidah's rigour to 
his soldiers. Seating himself upon the ground, he immediately 
wrote a reply to his general, expressing his satisfaction at his 
success, but exhorting him to more indulgence to his soldiers. 
Those who had fought the good fight ought to be permitted to 
rest themselves, and to enjoy the good things they had gained. 
Such as had no wives at home, might marry in Syria, and those 
who had a desire for female slaves, might purchase as many as 
they chose. 

While the main army reposed after the taking of Antioch, 
the indefatigable Khaled, at the head of a detachment, scoured 
the country as far as to the Euphrates; took Membege, the 
ancient Hierapolis, by force, and Berah and Bales, and other 
places, by capitulation, receiving a hundred thousand pieces of 
gold by way of ransom, besides laying the inhabitants under 
annual tribute. 

Abu Obeidah, in an assemblage of his officers, now proposed 
an expedition to subdue the mountains of Syria; but no one 
stepped forward to volunteer. The mountains were rugged and 
sterile, and covered with ice and snow for the greater part of 
the year, and the troops already began to feel the effects of the 
softening climate and delights of Syria. At length a candidate 
presented himself, named Meisara Ibn Mesroud ; a numerous 
body of picked men was placed under his command, and a 
black flag w r as given him, bearing the inscription, " There is no 
God but God. Mahomet is the messenger of God." Damas 
accompanied him at the head of one thousand black Ethiopian 
slaves. The detachment suffered greatly in the mountains, for 
they were men of sultry climates, unaccustomed to ice and 
snow, and they passed suddenly from a soft Syrian summer to 
the severity of frozen winter, and from the midst of abundance 
to regions of solitude and sterility. The inhabitants, too, of 
the scanty villages, fled at their approach. At length they 
captured a prisoner, who informed them that an imperial army 
of many thousand men was lying in wait for them in a valley 
about three leagues distant, and that all the passes behind them 
were guarded. A scout, despatched in search of intelligence, 
confirmed this news : whereupon they intrenched themselves in 
a commanding position, and despatched a fleet courier to Abu 
Obeidah, to inform him of their perilous situation. 

The courier made such speed, that when he reached the 

H 



98 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



presence of Obeidah, he fainted through exhaustion. Khaled, 
who had just returned from his successful expedition to the 
Euphrates, instantly hastened to the relief of Meisara with 
three thousand men, and was presently followed by Ayad Ibn 
Ganam, with two thousand more. 

Khaled found Meisara and his men making desperate stand 
against an overwhelming force. At the sight of this powerful 
reinforcement, with the black eagle of Khaled in the advance, 
the Greeks gave over the attack and returned to their camp, 
but secretly retreated in the night, leaving their tents standing, 
and bearing of! captive Abdallah Ibn Hodafa, a near relative 
of the prophet, and a beloved friend of the Caliph Omar, whom 
they straightway sent to the emperor at Constantinople. 

The Moslems forbore to pursue the enemy through these 
difficult mountains, and, after plundering the deserted tents, 
returned to the main army. When the Caliph Omar received 
tidings from Abu Obeidah of the capture of Abdallah Ibn 
Hodafa, he was grieved at heart, and despatched instantly an 
epistle to the Emperor Heraclius at Constantinople. 
"Bismillah! In the name of the all-merciful God ! 
" Praise be to Allah, the Lord of this world, and of that which 
is to come, who has neither companion, wife, nor son; and 
blessed be Mahomet his apostle. Omar Ibn al Khattab, servant 
of God, to Heraclius, emperor of the Greeks. As soon as thou 
shalt receive this epistle, fail not to send to me the Moslem 
captive, whose name is Abdallah Ibn Hodafa. If thou doest 
this, I shall have hope that Allah will conduct thee in the right 
path. If thou dost refuse, I will not fail to send thee such men 
as traffic and merchandise have not turned from the fear of God. 
Health and happiness to all those who tread in the right way !" 

In the mean time the emperor had treated his prisoner with 
great distinction, and as Abdallah w T as a cousin- german to the 
prophet, the son of one of his uncles, he was an object of great 
curiosity at Constantinople. The emperor proffered him liberty 
if he would only make a single sign of adoration to the crucifix, 
and magnificent rewards if he would embrace the Christian 
faith; but both proposals were rejected. Heraclius, say the 
Arab writers, then changed his treatment of him ; shut him up 
for three days, with nothing to eat and drink but swine's flesh 
and w r ine, but on the fourth day found both untouched. The 
faith of Abdallah was put to no further proof, as by this time 
the emperor received the stern letter from the Caliph. The 



OMAR. 



99 



letter had its effect. The prisoner was dismissed, with costly 
robes and rich presents, and Heraclius sent to Omar a diamond 
of great size and beauty; but no jeweller at Medina could 
estimate its value. The abstemious Omar refused to appropri- 
ate it to his own use, though urged to do so by the Moslems. 
He placed it in the public treasury, of which, from his office, 
he was the guardian and manager. It was afterwards sold for 
a great sum. 

A singular story is related by a Moslem writer, but not sup- 
ported by any rumour or surmise among Christian historians. 
It is said that the Emperor Heraclius wavered in his faith, if he 
did not absolutely become a secret convert of Mahometamsm, 
and this is stated as the cause. He was afflicted with a violent 
pain in the head, for which he could find no remedy, until the 
Caliph Omar sent him a cap of mysterious virtue. So long as 
he wore this cap he was at ease, but the moment he laid it aside 
the pain returned. Heraclius caused the cap to be ripped open, 
and found within the lining a scrap of paper, on which was 
written, in Arabic character, Bismillah ! Arrahmani Arrahimi! 
In the name of the all-merciful God. This cap is said to have 
been preserved among the Christians until the year 833, when 
it was given up by the governor of a besieged town to the 
Caliph Almotassem, on condition of his raising the siege. It 
was found still to retain its medicinal virtues, winch the pious 
Arabians ascribed to the efficacy of the devout inscription. An 
unbelieving Christian will set it down among the charms and 
incantations which have full effect on imaginative persons in- 
clined to credulity, but upon none others ; such persons 
abounded among the Arabs. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
The course of our history now turns to record the victories 
of Amru Ibn al Aass, to whom, after the capture of Jerusalem, 
the Caliph had assigned the invasion and subjugation of Egypt. 
Amru, however, did not proceed immediately to that country, 
but remained for some time, with his division of the army, in 
Palestine, where some places still held out for the emperor. The 
natural and religious sobriety of the Arabs was still sorely en- 
dangered among the temptations of Syria. Several of the 
Moslem officers being seized, while on the march, with chills and 
griping pains in consequence of eating unripe grapes, were 
counselled by a crafty old Christian Arab to drink freely of wine 



100 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET, 



which he produced, and which he pronounced a sovereign 
remedy. They followed his prescriptions so lustily, that they all 
came reeling into the camp, to the great scandal of Amru. The 
punishment for drunkenness, recommended by AH and adopted 
by the Caliph, was administered to the delinquents; who each 
received a sound bastinado on the soles of the feet. This sobered 
them completely, but so enraged them with the old man who 
had recommended the potations, that they would have put him 
to death, had it not been represented to them that he was a 
stranger and under Moslem protection. 

Amru now advanced upon the city of Caesarea, where Con- 
stantine, son of the emperor, was posted with a large army. 
The Moslems were beset by spies, sent by the Christian com- 
mander to obtain intelligence. These were commonly Christian 
Arabs, whom it was almost impossible to distinguish from those 
of the faith of Islam. One of these, however, after' sitting 
one day by the camp fires, as he rose trod on the end of his 
own robe and stumbled; in his vexation he uttered an oath 
"by Christ!" He was immediately detected by his blasphemy 
to be a Christian and a spy, and was cut to pieces by the by- 
standers. Amru rebuked them for their precipitancy, as he 
might have gained information from their victim ; and ordered 
that in future all spies should be brought to him. 

The fears of Constantine increased with the approach of the 
army, and he now despatched a Christian priest to Amru, soli- 
citing him to send some principal officer to confer amicably 
with him. An Ethiopian negro, named Belal Ibn Rebah, 
offered to undertake the embassy. He was a man of powerful 
frame and sonorous voice, and had been employed by Mahomet 
as a Muezzin, or crier, to summon the people to prayers. 
Proud of having officiated under the prophet, he retired from 
office at his death, and had raised his voice but once since that 
event, and that was on the taking possession of Jerusalem, the 
city of the prophets, when, at the Caliph Omars command, 
he summoned the true believers to prayers with a force of 
lungs that astonished the Jewish inhabitants. 

Amru would have declined the officious offer of the voci- 
ferous Ethiopian, representing to him that such a mission re- 
quired a smooth-spoken Arab rather than one of his country ; 
but on Belal conjuring him iin the name of Allah and the 
prophet to let him go, he reluctantly consented. When the 
priest saw who was to accompany him back to Constantine, he 



OMAR. 



101 



objected stoutly to such an ambassador, and glancing con- 
temptuously at the negro features of the Ethiopian, observed 
that Constantine had not sent for a slave, but for an officer. 
The negro ambassador, however, persisted in his diplomatic 
errand, but was refused admission, and returned mortified and 
indignant. 

Amru now determined to undertake the conference in person. 
Repairing to the Christian camp, he was conducted to Constan- 
tine, whom he found seated in state, and who ordered a chair 
to be placed for him; but he put it aside, and seated himself 
cross-legged on the ground after the Arab fashion, with his 
scimetar on his thigh and his lance across his knees. The 
curious conference that ensued is minutely narrated by that 
pious Imam and Cadi, the Moslem historian Alwakedi, in his 
chronicle of the conquest of Syria. 

Constantine remonstrated against the invasion, telling Amru 
that the Romans and Greeks and Arabs were brethren, as 
being all the children of Noah, although, it was true, the Arabs 
were misbegotten, as being the descendants of Ishmael, the 
son of Hagar, a slave and a concubine, yet being thus brethren, 
it was sinful for them to war against each other. 

Amru replied that what Constantine had said was true, and 
that the Arabs gloried in acknowledging Ishmael as their pro- 
genitor, and envied not the Greeks their forefather Esau, who 
had sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. He added that 
their difference related to their religion, upon which ground 
even brothers were justified in warfare. 

Amru proceeded to state that Noah, after the deluge, divided 
the earth into three parts, between his sons Shem, Ham, and 
Japhet, and that Syria was in the portion assigned to Shem, 
which continued down through his descendants Kathan and 
Tesm, and Jodais to Amalek, the father of the Amalekite 
Arabs; but that the Arabs had been pushed from their fertile 
inheritance of Syria into the stony and thorny deserts of 
Arabia. 

" We come now," continued Amru, " to claim our ancient 
inheritance, and resume the ancient partition. Take you the 
stones and the thorns, and the barren deserts we have occupied, 
and give us back the pleasant land of Syria, with its groves, 
its pastures, its fair cities and running streams." 

To this Constantine replied, that the partition was already 
made; that time and possession had confirmed it, and that the 



102 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



groves had been planted, and the cities built by the present 
inhabitants. Each, therefore, ought to be contented with the 
lot that had fallen to him. 

" There are two conditions," rejoined Amru, " on which the 
land may remain with its present inhabitants. Let them pro- 
fess the religion of Islam, or pay tribute to the Caliph, as is 
due from all unbelievers." 

" Not so," said Constantine, " but let each continue to 
possess the land he has inhabited, and enjoy the produce of his 
own toil, and profess the faith which he believes, in his own 
conscience, to be true." 

Upon this Amru sternly rose. c< One only alternative," said 
he, 4 remains. Since you obstinately refuse the conditions I 
propose, even as your ancestor Esau refused obedience to his 
mother, let God and the sword decide between us." 

As he was about to depart, he added : " We will acknow- 
ledge no kindred with you while ye continue unbelievers. Ye 
are the children of Esau, we of Ishmael, through whom alone 
the seal and gift of prophecy descended from father to son, 
from our great forefather Adam, until it reached the prophet 
Mahomet. Now Ishmael was the best of the sons of his father, 
and made the tribe of Kenanah, the best tribe of Arabia ; and 
the family of Koreish is the best of the tribe of Kenanah; and 
the children of Haschem are the best of the family of Koreish; 
and Abdailah Motalleb, grandsire of Mahomet, was the best 
of the sons of Haschem; and Abdailah, the youngest and best 
of the thirteen sons of Abu Motalleb, was the father of Ma- 
homet (on whom be peace!), who was the best and only issue 
of his sire; and to him the angel Gabriel descended from 
Allah, and inspired him with the gift of prophecy." 

Thus terminated this noted conference, and Amru returned 
to his host. The armies now remained in sight of each other, 
prepared for battle, but without coming to action. One day an 
officer richly arrayed came forth from the Christian camp, 
defying the Moslems to single combat. Several were eager to 
accept the challenge in hopes of gaining such glittering spoil ; 
but Amru rebuked their sordid motives. u Let no man fight for 
gain," said he, " but for the truth. He who loses his life fight- 
ing for the love of God, will have paradise as a reward ; but he 
who loses it fighting for any other object, will lose his life and 
all that he fights for." 

A stripling now advanced, an Arab from Yemen, or Arabia 



OMAR. 



103 



the Happy, who had sought these wars not, as he said, for the 
delights of Syria, or the fading enjoyments of this world, but to 
devote himself to the service of God and his apostle. His 
mother and sister had in vain opposed his leaving his peaceful 
home, to seek a life of danger. 6 6 If I fall in the service of 
Allah," said he, 6 ' I shall be a martyr ; and the prophet has said, 
that the spirits of the martyrs shall dwell in the crops of the 
green birds that eat of the fruits and drink of the rivers of 
paradise." Finding their remonstrances of no avail, his mother 
and sister had followed him to the wars, and they now endea- 
voured to dissuade him from fighting with an adversary so much 
his superior in strength and years ; but the youthful enthusiast 
was not to be moved. "Farewell, mother and sister !" cried he, 
"we shall meet again by that river of joy provided in paradise 
for the apostle and his followers." 

The youth rushed to the combat, but obtained almost in- 
stantly the crown of martyrdom he sought. Another, and 
another succeeded him, but shared the same fate. Serjabil Ibn 
Hasanah stepped forth. As on a former occasion, in purifying 
the spirit, he had reduced the flesh ; and a course of watching and 
fasting had rendered him but little competent to face his power- 
ful adversary. After a short combat the Christian bore him to 
the earth, and setting his foot upon his breast, was about to take 
his life, when his own hand was suddenly severed from his body. 
The prostrate Serjabil looked up with surprise at his deliverer ; 
for he was in Grecian attire, and had come from the Grecian host. 
He announced himself as the unhappy Tuleia Ibn Chowailed, 
formerly a pretended prophet and an associate of Moseilma. 
After the death of that impostor, he had repented of his false 
prophecies, and become a Moslem in heart, and had sought an 
opportunity of signalising his devotion to the Islam cause. 

"Oh brother!" cried Serjabil, "the mercy of Allah is infi- 
nite, and repentance wipes away ail crimes." 

Serjabil would now have taken him to the Moslem host, but 
Tuleia hung back ; and at length confessed that he would long 
since have joined the standard of Islam, but that he was afraid 
of Khaled, that terror and scourge of false prophets, who had 
killed his friend Moseilma, and who might put him to death 
out of resentment for past misdeeds. Serjabil quieted his fears, 
by assuring him that Khaled was not in the Moslem camp ; lie 
then conducted him to Amru, who received him with great 
favour, and afterwards gave him a letter to the Caliph setting 



104 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



forth the signal service he had performed, and his sincere devo- 
tion to the cause of Islam. He was subsequently employed in 
the wars of the Moslems against the Persians. 

The weather was cold and tempestuous, and the Christians, 
disheartened by repeated reverses, began daily to desert their 
colours. The prince Constantine dreaded, with his diminished 
and discouraged troops, to encounter an enemy flushed with 
success, and continually augmenting in force. Accordingly, he 
took advantage of a tempestuous night, and abandoning his 
camp, to be plundered by the Moslems, retreated with his army 
to Csesarea, and shut himself up within its walls. Hither he was 
soon followed by Amru, who laid close siege to the place, but 
the walls were strong, the garrison was numerous, and Constan- 
tine hoped to be able to hold out until the arrival of reinforce- 
ments. The tidings of further disasters and disgraces to the 
imperial cause, however, destroyed this hope ; and these were 
brought about by the stratagems and treacheries of that arch 
deceiver Youkenna. After the surrender of Antioch, that wily 
traitor still kept up his pretended devotion to the Christian cause, 
and retreated with his band of renegadoes to the town of Tripoli, 
a seaport in Syria, situated on the Mediterranean. Here he 
was cordially admitted, as his treachery was still unknown. 
W atching his opportunity, he rose with his devoted band, seized 
on the town and citadel without noise or tumult, and kept the 
standard of the cross still flying, while he sent secret intelli- 
gence of his exploit to Abu Obeidah. Just at this time, a fleet 
of fifty ships from Cyprus and Crete put in there, laden with 
arms and provisions for Const an tine's army. Before notice 
could be given of the posture of affairs, Youkenna gained pos- 
session of the ships, and embarked on board of them with his 
renegadoes and other troops, delivering the city of Tripoli into 
the hands of the force sent by Abu Obeidah to receive it. 

Bent on new treacheries, Youkenna now sailed with the fleet 
to Tyre, displaying the Christian flag and informing the 
governor that he was come with a reinforcement for the army 
of the emperor. He w r as kindly received, and landed with nine 
hundred of his troops, intending to rise on the garrison in the 
night. One of his own men, however, betrayed the plot, and 
Youkenna and his followers were seized and imprisoned in the 
citadel. 

In the mean time, Yezed Ibn Abu Sofian, who had marched 
with two thousand men against Csesarea, but had left Amru to 



OMAK. 



105 



subdue it, came with his troops into the neighbourhood of Tyre, 
in hopes to find it in possession of Youkenna. The governor of 
the city, despising so slender a force, sallied forth with the 
greater part of his garrison, and the inhabitants mounted on the 
walls to see the battle. 

It was the fortune of Youkenna, which he derived from his 
consummate skill in intrigue, that his failure and captivity on 
this occasion, as on a former one, in the castle of Aazaz, served 
only as a foundation for his success. He contrived to gain over 
a Christian officer, named Basil, to whose keeping he and the 
other prisoners were entrusted, and who was already disposed to 
embrace the Islam faith ; and he sent information of his plan by 
a disguised messenger to Yezed, and to those of his own fol- 
lowers who remained on board of the fleet. All this was the 
work of a few hours, while the opposing forces were preparing 
for action. 

The battle was hardly begun when Youkenna and his nine 
hundred men, set free by the apostate Basil, and 'conducted to 
the arsenal, armed themselves, and separated in different parties. 
Some scoured the streets, shouting La ilaha Allah ! and Allah 
Achbar ! Others stationed themselves at the passages by which 
alone the guard could descend from the walls. Others ran to 
the port, where they were joined by their comrades from the 
fleet, and others threw wide the gates to a detachment of the 
army of Yezed. All this was suddenly effected, and with such 
co-operation from various points, that the place was presently 
in the hands of the Moslems. Most of the inhabitants embraced 
the Islam faith ; the rest were pillaged and made slaves. 

It was the tidings of the loss of Tripoli and Tyre, and of the 
capture of the fleet, with its munitions of war, that struck 
dismay into the heart of the prince Constantine, and made him 
quake within the walls of Csesarea. He felt as if Amru and 
his besieging army were already within the walls ; and, taking 
disgraceful counsel from his fears, and example from his father's 
flight from Antioch, he removed furtively from Csesarea, with 
his family and vast treasure, gained promptly a convenient port, 
and set all sail for Constantinople. 

The people of Caesarea, finding one morning that the son of 
their sovereign had fled in the night, capitulated with Amru, 
offering to deliver up the city, with all the wealth belonging to 
the family of the late emperor, and two hundred thousand pieces 
of silver, as ransom for their own property. Their terms were 



106 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



promptly accepted, Amru being anxious to depart on the inva- 
sion of Egypt. 

The surrender of Csesarea was followed by the other places in 
the province which had still held out, and thus, after a war of 
six years, the Moslem conquest of Syria was completed, in the 
5th year of the Caliph Omar, the 29th of the reign of the Em- 
peror Heraclius, the 17th of the Hegira, and the 639th year of 
our redemption. 

The conquest was followed by a pestilence, one of the cus- 
tomary attendants upon war. Great numbers of the people of 
Syria perished, and with them twenty-five thousand of their 
Arabian conquerors. Among the latter was Abu Obeidah, the 
commander-in-chief, then fifty-eight years of age ; also Yezed 
Ibn Abu Sofian, Serjabil, and other distinguished generals, so 
that the 18th year of the Hegira became designated as "The 
year of the mortality." 

In closing this account of the conquest of Syria, we must 
note the fate of one of the most efficient of its conquerors, the 
invincible Khaled. He had never been a favourite of Omar, 
who considered him rash and headlong, arrogant in the exercise 
of command, unsparing in the use of the sword, and rapacious 
in grasping the spoils of victory. His brilliant achievements in 
Irak and Syria, and the magnanimity with which he yielded 
the command to Abu Obeidah, and zealously fought under his 
standard, had never sufficed to efface the prejudice of Omar. 

After the capture of Emessa, which was mainly effected by 
the bravery of Khaled, he received congratulations on all hands 
as the victor. Eschaus, an Arabian poet, sang his exploits in 
lofty verse, making him the hero of the whole Syrian conquest. 
Khaled, who was as ready to squander as to grasp, rewarded 
the adulation of the poet with thirty thousand pieces of silver. 
All this, when reported to Omar, excited his quick disgust ; he 
was indignant at Khaled for arrogating to himself, as he sup- 
posed, all the glory of the war ; and he attributed the lavish 
reward of the poet to gratified vanity. "Even if the money 
came from his own purse," said he, " it was shameful squander- 
ing ; and God, says the Koran, loves not a squanderer." 

He now gave faith to a charge made against Khaled of em- 
bezzling the spoils set apart for the public treasury, and forth- 
with sent orders for him to be degraded from his command in 
presence of the assembled army. It is even said his arms were 
tied behind his back with his turban. 



OMAR. 



107 



A rigid examination proved the charge of embezzlement to 
be unfounded, but Khaled was subjected to a heavy fine. The 
sentence causing great dissatisfaction in the army, the Caliph 
wrote to the commanders : " I have punished Khaled not on 
account of fraud or falsehood, but for his vanity and prodi- 
gality — paying poets for ascribing to him alone all the suc- 
cesses of the holy war. Good and evil come from God, not 
from Khaled!" 

These indignities broke the heart of the veteran, who was 
already infirm from the wounds and hardships of his arduous 
campaigns, and he gradually sank into the grave, regretting in 
his last moments that he had not died in the field of battle. 
He left a name idolised by the soldiery, and beloved by his 
kindred. At his sepulture, all the women of his race cut off 
their hair, in token of lamentation. When it was ascertained, 
at his death, that, instead of having enriched himself by the 
wars, his whole property consisted of his war-horse, his arms, 
and a single slave, Omar became sensible of the injustice he had 
done to his faithful general, and shed tears over his grave. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

A proof of the religious infatuation, or the blind confidence 
in destiny, which hurried the Moslem commanders of those 
days into the most extravagant enterprises, is furnished in the 
invasion of the once proud empire of the Pharaohs, the mighty, 
the mysterious Egypt, with an army of merely five thousand 
men. The Caliph, himself, though he had suggested this ex- 
pedition, seems to have been conscious of its rashness ; or rather 
to have been chilled by the doubts of his prime counsellor 
Othman; for, while Amru was on the march, he despatched 
missives after him to the following effect : " If this epistle 
reach thee before thou hast crossed the boundary of Egypt, 
come instantly back ; but if it find thee within the Egyptian 
territory, march on with the blessing of Allah, and be assured I 
will send thee all necessary aid." 

The bearer of the letter overtook Amru while vet within 
the bounds of Syria; that wary general either had secret 
information, or made a shrewd surmise, as to the purport of 
his errand, and continued his march across the border without 
admitting him to an audience. Having encamped at the 
Egyptian village of Arish, he received the courier with all due 
respect, and read the letter aloud in the presence of Iris officers. 



108 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



When he had finished, he demanded of those about him whether 
they were in Syria or Egypt. " In Egypt," was the reply. 
" Then," said Amru, " we will proceed, with the blessing of 
Allah, and fulfil the commands of the Caliph." 

The first place to which he laid siege was Farwak, or Pelu- 
sium, situated on the shores of the Mediterranean, on the 
isthmus which separates that sea from the Arabian Gulf, and 
connects Egypt with Syria and Arabia. It was therefore con- 
sidered the key to Egypt. A month's siege put Amru in 
possession of the place ; he then examined the surrounding 
country with more forethought than was generally manifested 
by the Moslem conquerors, and projected a canal across the 
isthmus, to connect the waters of the Red Sea and the Medi- 
terranean. His plan, however, was condemned by the Caliph, 
as calculated to throw open Arabia to a maritime invasion of 
the Christians. 

Amru now proceeded to Misrah, the Memphis of the ancients, 
and residence of the early Egyptian kings. This city was at 
that time the strongest fortress in Egypt, except Alexandria, 
and still retained much of its ancient magnificence. It stood 
on the western bank of the Nile, above the Delta, and a little 
east of the Pyramids. The citadel was of great strength, and 
well garrisoned, and had recently been surrounded with a deep 
ditch, into which nails and spikes had been thrown, to impede 
assailants. 

The Arab armies, rarely provided with the engines necessary 
for the attack of fortified places, generally beleaguered them ; 
cut off ail supplies ; attacked all foraging parties that sallied 
forth, and thus destroyed the garrison in detail, or starved it to 
a surrender. This was the reason of the long duration of their 
sieges. This of Misrah, or Memphis, lasted seven months : in 
the course of which the little army of Amru was much reduced 
by frequent skirmishings. At the end of this time he received 
a reinforcement of four thousand men, sent to him at his urgent 
entreaties by the Caliph. Still his force would have been in- 
sufficient for the capture of the place, had he not been aided by 
the treachery of its governor Mokawkas. 

This man, an original Egyptian, or Copt, by birth, and of 
noble rank, was a profound hypocrite. Like most of the Copts, 
he was of the Jacobite sect, who denied the double nature of 
Christ. He had dissembled his sectarian creed, however, and 
deceived the Emperor Heraclius by a show of loyalty ; so as 



OMAR. 



109 



to be made prefect of his native province, and governor of the 
city. Most of the inhabitants of Memphis were Copts and 
Jacobite Christians ; and held their Greek fellow-citizens, who 
were of the regular Catholic church of Constantinople, in great 
antipathy. 

Mokawkas, in the course of his administration, had collected, 
by taxes and tribute, an immense amount of treasure, which 
he had deposited in the citadel. He saw that the power of the 
emperor was coming to an end in this quarter, and thought 
the present a good opportunity to provide for his own fortune. 
Carrying on a secret correspondence with the Moslem general, 
he agreed to betray the place into his hands, on condition of 
receiving the treasure as a reward for his treason. He accord- 
ingly, at an appointed time, removed the greater part of the 
garrison from the citadel to an island in the Nile. The 
fortress was immediately assailed by Amru, at the head of 
his fresh troops, and was easily carried by assault, the Copts 
rendering no assistance. The Greek soldiery, on the Moslem 
standard being hoisted on the citadel, saw through the treachery, 
and, giving up all as lost, escaped in their ships to the mam 
land ; upon which the prefect surrendered the place by capi- 
tulation. An annual tribute of two ducats a head was levied 
on all the inhabitants of the district, with the exception of old 
men, women, and boys under the age of sixteen years. It 
was further conditioned, that the Moslem army should be 
furnished with provisions, for which they would pay, and that 
the inhabitants of the country should, forthwith, build bridges 
over all the streams on the way to Alexandria. It was also 
agreed that every Mussulman travelling through the countrv 
should be entitled to three days' hospitality, free of charge. 

The traitor Mokawkas was put in possession of his ill-gotten 
wealth. He begged of Amru to be taxed with the Copts, and 
always to be enrolled among them ; declaring his abhorrence 
of the Greeks and their doctrines ; urging Amru to persecute 
them with unremitting violence. He extended his sectarian 
bigotry even into the grave, stipulating that, at his death, he 
should be buried in the Christian Jacobite church of St. John, 
at Alexandria. 

Amru, who was politic as well as brave, seeing the irrecon- 
cilable hatred of the Coptic or Jacobite Christians to the 
Greeks, showed some favour to that sect, in order to make use 
of them in his conquest of the country. He even prevailed 



110 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



upon their patriarch Benjamin to emerge from his desert and 
hold a conference with him ; and subsequently declared that 
"he had never conversed with a Christian priest of more inno- 
cent manners or venerable aspect." This piece of diplomacy 
had its effect, for we are told that all the Copts above and below 
Memphis swore allegiance to the Caliph. 

Amru now pressed on for the city of Alexandria, distant 
about one hundred and twenty-five miles. According to stipu- 
lation, the people of the country repaired the roads and erected 
bridges to facilitate his march ; the Greeks, however, driven 
from various quarters by the progress of their invaders, had 
collected at different posts on the island of the Delta, and the 
channels of the Nile, and disputed, with desperate but fruitless 
obstinacy, the onward course of the conquerors. The severest 
check was given at Keram al Shoraik, by the late garrison of 
Memphis, who had fortified themselves there after retreating 
from the island of the Nile. For three days did they maintain 
a gallant conflict with the Moslems, and then retired in good 
order to Alexandria. With all the facilities furnished to them 
on their march, it cost the Moslems two-and-twenty days to 
fight their way to that great city. 

Alexandria now lay before them, the metropolis of wealthy 
Egypt, the emporium of the East, a place strongly fortified, 
stored with all the munitions of war, open by sea to all kinds 
of supplies and reinforcements, and garrisoned by Greeks, aggre- 
gated from various quarters, who here were to make the last 
stand for their Egyptian empire. It would seem that nothing 
short of an enthusiasm bordering on madness could have led 
Amru and his host on an enterprise against this powerful city. 

The Moslem leader, on planting his standard before the place, 
summoned it to surrender on the usual terms, w r hich being 
promptly refused, he prepared for a vigorous siege. The garrison 
did not wait to be attacked, but made repeated sallies, and fought 
with desperate valour. Those who gave greatest annoyance to 
the Moslems were their old enemies, the Greek troops from 
Memphis. Amru, seeing that the greatest defence was from a 
main tower, or citadel, made a gallant assault upon it, and carried 
it, sword in hand. The Greek troops, however, rallied to that 
point from all parts of the city ; the Moslems, after a furious 
struggle, gave way, and Amru, his faithful slave Werdan, and 
one of his generals, named Moslema Ibn al Mokalled, fighting to 
the last, were surrounded, overpowered, and taken prisoners. 



OMAR. 



Ill 



The Greeks, unaware of the importance of their captives, led 
them before the governor. He demanded of them, haughtily, 
what was their object in thus overrunning the world and disturb- 
ing the quiet of peaceable neighbours. Amru made the usual 
reply, that they came to spread the faith of Islam ; and that it 
was their intention, before they laid by the sword, to make the 
Egyptians either converts or tributaries. The boldness of his 
answer, and the loftiness of his demeanour, awakened the sus- 
picions of the governor, who, supposing him to be a warrior of 
note among the Arabs, ordered one of his guards to strike off his 
head. Upon this, Werdan, the slave, understanding the Greek 
language, seized his master by the collar, and, giving him a 
buffet on the cheek, called him an impudent dog, and ordered 
him to hold his peace, and let his superiors speak. Moslema, 
perceiving the meaning of the slave, now interposed, and made 
a plausible speech to the governor; telling him that Amru had 
thoughts of raising the siege, having received a letter to that 
effect from the Caliph, who intended to send ambassadors to 
treat for peace, and assuring the governor that, if permitted to 
depart, they would make a favourable report to Amru. 

The governor, who, if Arabian chronicles may be believed on 
this point, must have been a man of easy faith, ordered the 
prisoners to be set at liberty ; but the shouts of the besieging 
army on the safe return of their general soon showed him how 
completely he had been duped. 

But scanty details of the siege of Alexandria have reached 
the Christian reader, yet it was one of the longest, most obsti- 
nately contested and sanguinary, in the whole course of the 
Moslem wars. It endured fourteen months with various success; 
the Moslem army was repeatedly reinforced, and lost twenty- 
three thousand men; at length their irresistible ardour and per- 
severance prevailed; the capital of Egypt was conquered, and 
the Greek inhabitants were dispersed in all directions. Some 
retreated in considerable bodies into the interior of the country, 
and fortified themselves in strongholds ; others took refuge in the 
ships, and put to sea. 

Amru, on taking possession of the city, found it nearly 
abandoned; he prohibited his troops from plundering ; and, 
leaving a small garrison to guard the place, hastened with his 
main army in pursuit of the fugitive Greeks. In the mean time 
the ships which had taken off a part of the garrison were still 
lingering on the coast, and tidings reached them that the Moslem 
general had departed, and had left the captured city nearly de- 



112 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



fenceless. They immediately made sail back for Alexandria, 
and entered the port in the night. The Greek soldiers surprised 
the sentinels, got possession of the city, and put most of the Mos- 
lems they found there to the sword. 

Amru was in full pursuit of the Greek fugitives when he 
heard of the recapture of the city. Mortified at his own negli- 
gence in leaving so rich a conquest with so slight a guard, he re- 
turned in all haste, resolved to retake it by storm. The Greeks, 
however, had fortified themselves strongly in the castle, and 
made stout resistance. Amru was obliged, therefore, to besiege 
it a second time, but the siege was short. The castle was carried 
by assault; many of the Greeks were cut to pieces, the rest 
escaped once more to their ships, and now gave up the capital 
as lost. All this occurred in the nineteenth year of the Hegira, 
and the year 640 of the Christian era. 

On this second capture of the city by force of arms, and with- 
out capitulation, the troops were clamorous to be permitted to 
plunder. Amru again checked their rapacity, and commanded 
that all persons and property in the place should remain invio- 
late, until the will of the Caliph could be known. So perfect 
was his command over his troops, that not the most trivial article 
was taken. His letter to the Caliph shows what must have been 
the population and splendour of Alexandria, and the luxury and 
effeminacy of its inhabitants, at the time of the Moslem conquest . 
It states the city to have contained four thousand palaces; five 
thousand baths; four hundred theatres and places of amusement; 
twelve thousand gardeners which supply it with vegetables, and 
forty thousand tributary Jews. It was impossible, he said, to 
do justice to its riches and magnificence. He had hitherto held 
it sacred from plunder, but his troops having won it by force of 
arms, considered themselves entitled to the spoils of victory* 

The Caliph Omar, in reply, expressed a high sense of his im- 
portant services, but reproved him for even mentioning the de- 
sire of the soldiery to plunder so rich a city, one of the greatest 
emporiums of the East. He charged him, therefore, most 
rigidly to watch over the rapacious propensities of his men ; to 
prevent all pillage, violence, and waste; to collect and make out 
an account of all moneys, jewels, household furniture, and every- 
thing else that was valuable, to be appropriated towards defray- 
ing the expenses of this war of the faith. He ordered the 
tribute also, collected in the conquered country, to be treasured 
up at Alexandria, for the supplies of the Moslem troops. 

The surrender of all Egypt followed the capture of its capital. 



OMAR. 



113 



A tribute of two ducats was laid on every male of mature age, 
beside a tax on all lands in proportion to their value, and the 
revenue which resulted to the Caliph is estimated at twelve 
millions of ducats. 

We have shown that Amru was a poet in his youth ; and 
throughout all his campaigns he manifested an intelligent and 
inquiring spirit, if not more highly informed, at least more libe- 
ral and extended in its views than was usual among the early 
Moslem conquerors. He delighted, in his hours of leisure, to 
converse with learned men, and acquire through their means 
such knowledge as had been denied to him by the deficiency of 
his education. Such a companion he found at Alexandria in a 
native of the place, a Christian of the sect of the Jacobites, 
eminent for his philological researches, his commentaries on 
Moses and Aristotle, and his laborious treatises of various kinds, 
surnamed Philoponus from his love of study, but commonly 
known by the name of John the Grammarian. An intimacy 
soon arose between the Arab conqueror and the Christian phi- 
lologist ; an intimacy honourable to Amru, but destined to be 
lamentable in its result to the cause of letters. In an evil hour, 
John the Grammarian, being encouraged by the favour shown 
him by the Arab general, revealed to him a treasure hitherto 
unnoticed, or rather unvalued by the Moslem conquerors. This 
was a vast collection of books or manuscripts, since renowned 
in history as the Alexandrian Library. Perceiving that in 
taking an account of everything valuable in the city, and seal- 
ing up all its treasures, Amru had taken no notice of the books, 
John solicited that they might be given to him. Unfortu- 
nately, the learned zeal of the Grammarian gave a consequence 
to the books in the eyes of Amru, and made him scrupulous of 
giving them away without permission of the Caliph. He forth- 
with wrote to Omar, stating the merits of John, and requesting 
to know whether the books might be given to him. The reply 
of Omar was laconic, but fatal. " The contents of those books," 
said he, " are in conformity with the Koran, or they are not. 
If they are, the Koran is sufficient without them ; if they are 
not, they are pernicious. Let them, therefore, be destroyed." 

Amru, it is said, obeyed the order punctually. The books 
and manuscripts were distributed as fuel among the five thou- 
sand baths of the city; but so numerous were they that it took 
six months to consume them. This act of barbarism, recorded 
by Abulpharagius, is considered somewhat doubtful by Gibbon, 

I 



114 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET, 



in consequence of its not being mentioned by two of the most 
ancient chroniclers, Elmacin in his Saracenic history, and 
Eutychius in his annals, the latter of whom was patriarch of 
Alexandria, and has detailed the conquest of that city. It is 
inconsistent, too, with the character of Amru, as a poet and 
a man of superior intelligence ; and it has recently been re- 
ported, we know not on what authority, that many of the lite- 
rary treasures thus said to have been destroyed, do actually 
exist in Constantinople. Their destruction, however, is gene- 
rally credited and deeply deplored by historians. Amru, as a 
man of genius and intelligence, may have grieved at the order 
of the Caliph ; while, as a loyal subject and faithful soldier, 
he felt bound to obey it.* 

The fall of Alexandria decided the fate of Egypt and like- 
wise that of the Emperor Heraclius. He was already afflicted 
with a dropsy, and took the loss of his Syrian, and now that of 
his Egyptian dominions, so much to heart, that he underwent 
a paroxysm, which ended in his death, about seven weeks after 
the loss of his Egyptian capital. He was succeeded by his son 
Constantine. 

While Amru was successfully extending his conquests, a 
great dearth and famine fell upon all Arabia, insomuch that the 
Caliph Omar had to call upon him for supplies from the fertile 
plains of Egypt ; whereupon Amru despatched such a train of 
camels laden with grain, that it is said, when the first of the 
line had reached the city of Medina, the last had not yet left 
the land of Egypt. But this mode of conveyance proving too 
tardy, at the command of the Caliph he dug a canal of com- 
munication from the Nile to the Red Sea, a distance of eighty 
miles ; by which provisions might be conveyed to the Arabian 
shores. This canal had been commenced by Trajan, the Ro- 
man emperor. 

* The Alexandrian Library was formed by Ptolemy Soter, and 
placed in a building called the Bruchion. It was augmented in suc- 
cessive reigns to 400,000 volumes, and an additional 300,000 volumes 
were placed in a temple called the Serapeon. The Bruchion, with the 
books it contained, was burnt in the war of Ca?sar, but the Serapeon 
was preserved. Cleopatra, it is said, added to it the library of Per- 
gamas, given to her by Marc Antony, consisting of 200,000 volumes. 
It sustained repeated injuries during various subsequent revolutions, 
but was always restored to its ancient splendour, and numerous ad- 
ditions made to it. Such was its state at the capture of Alexandria 
by the Moslems. 



OMAR. 



115 



The able and indefatigable Amru 'went on in this manner, 
executing the commands and fulfilling the wishes of the Caliph; 
and governed the country he had conquered with such sagacity 
and justice, that he rendered himself one of the most worthily 
renowmed among the Moslem generals. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

For the sake of perspicuity, we have recorded the Moslem 
conquests in Syria and Egypt in a continued narrative, without 
pausing to notice events which w r ere occurring at the same time 
in other quarters ; we now recede several years, to take up the 
course of affairs in Persia, from the time that Khaled, in the 
thirteenth year of the Hegira, in obedience to the orders of 
Abu Beker, left his victorious army on the banks of the Eu- 
phrates, to take the general command in Syria. The victories 
of Khaled had doubtless been owing in part to the distracted 
state of the Persian empire. In the course of an inconsiderable 
number of years, the proud sceptre of the Khosrus had passed 
from hand to hand; KhosrusIL, surnamed Parviz, having been 
repeatedly defeated by Heraclius, was deposed in 628 by a 
party of his nobles, headed by his own son Siroes (or Shiruyah). 
and was put to death by the latter in a vault under the palace, 
among the treasures he had amassed. To secure possession of 
the throne, Siroes followed up the parricide by the massacre of 
seventeen of his brothers. It was not ambition alone that in- 
stigated these crimes. He was enamoured of a sultana in the 
harem of his father ; the matchless Shireen. While yet reeking 
with his father's blood, he declared his passion to her. She re- 
coiled from him with horror; and when he would have used 
force, gave herself instant death to escape from his embraces. 
The disappointment of his passion ; the upbraidings of his 
sisters for the murders of their father and their brothers ; and 
the stings of his own conscience, threw Siroes into a moody 
melancholy, and either caused, or added acuteness to a malady, 
of which he died in the course of eight months. 

His infant son Ardisheer was placed on the throne about the 
end of 628, but was presently slain, and the throne usurped by 
Sheriyar, a Persian noble, who was himself killed after a very 
short reign. Turan-Docht, a daughter of Khosru Parviz, was 
now crowned, and reigned eighteen months, when she was set 
aside by her cousin Shah Shenandeh, who was himself deposed 

i 2 



116 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



by the nobles, and Arzemi-Docht* or Arzemia, as the name is 
commonly given, another daughter of Khosru Parviz, was 
placed on the throne in the year 632 of the Christian era. 
The Persian seat of government, which had been often changed, 
was at this time held in the magnificent city of Madain or 
Madayn, on the Tigris, where was the ancient Ctesiphon. 

Arzemia was distinguished alike for masculine talents and 
feminine beauty ; she had been carefully instructed under her 
father Khosru, and had acquired sad experience during the 
series of conspiracies and assassinations which had beset the 
throne for the last four years. Rejecting from her council the 
very traitors who had placed the crown upon her head, she 
undertook to wield the sceptre without the aid of a vizir, 
thereby giving mortal offence to the most powerful nobles of 
her realm. She was soon called upon to exert her masculine 
spirit by the continued aggressions of the Moslems. 

The reader will recollect that the Moslem army on the 
Euphrates, at the departure of Khaled, was left under the 
command of Mosenna Ibn Haris (or Muthenna Ibn Harith, as 
the name is sometimes rendered). On the accession of Omar 
to the Caliph at, he appointed Mosenna emir or governor of 
Sewad, the country recently conquered by Khaled, lying about 
the lower part of the Euphrates and the Tigris, forming a 
portion of the Persian province of Irak-Arabi. This was in 
compliance with the wishes and intentions of Abu Beker; 
though Omar does not appear to have had great confidence in 
the military talents of Mosenna, the career of conquest having 
languished in his hands since the departure of Khaled. He 
accordingly sent Abu Obeidah Sakfi, one of the most important 
disciples of the prophet, at the head of a thousand chosen men, 
to reinforce the army under Mosenna, and to take the lead in 
military enterprises. f He was accompanied by Sabit Ibn Kais, 
one of the veterans of the battle of Beder. 

The Persian queen, hearing of the advance of the Moslem 
army thus reinforced, sent an able general, Rustam Ibn Ferukh- 
Zad (or Feruchsad), with thirty thousand more, to repel them. 
Rustam halted on the confines of Irak, and sent forward strong 

* Docht or Dokht, diminutive of dukhter, signifies the unmarried or 

maiden state. 

t This Abu Obeidah has sometimes been confounded with the general 
of the same name, who commanded in Syria; the latter, however, was 
Abu Obeidah Ibn Aljerah (the son of Aljerah). 



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detachments under a general named Dschaban, and a Persian 
prince named Narsi (or Narsis). These were so roughly handled 
by the Moslems, that Rustam found it necessary to hasten with 
his main force to their assistance. He arrived too late ; they 
had been severally defeated and put to flight, and the whole 
country of Sewad was in the hands of the Moslems. 

Queen Arzemia, still more aroused to the danger of her 
kingdom, sent Rustam a reinforcement led by Behman Dsehadu, 
surnamed the Veiled, from the shaggy eyebrows which over- 
shadowed his visage. He brought with him three thousand 
men and thirty elephants. These animals, of little real utility 
in warfare, were formidable in the eyes of those unaccustomed 
to them, and were intended to strike terror into the Arabian 
troops. One of them was the white elephant Mahmoud, famous 
for having been ridden by Abraha, the Ethiopian king, in fore- 
gone times, when he invaded Mecca and assailed the Caaba. 
It was considered a harbinger of victor)', all the enterprises in 
which it had been employed having proved successful. 

With Behman, the heavy-browed, came also the standard of 
Kaoh — the sacred standard. It was originally the leathern 
apron of the blacksmith Kaoh, which he reared as a banner 
when he roused the people, and delivered Persia from the 
tyranny of Sohak. It had been enlarged from time to time 
with costly silk, embroidered with gold, until it was twenty- 
two feet long and fifteen broad ; and was decorated with gems 
of inestimable value. With this standard the fate of the king- 
dom was believed, by superstitious Persians, to be connected. 

The Moslem forces, even with the reinforcement brought by 
Abu Obeidah Sakfi, did not exceed nine thousand in number ; 
the Persians, encamped near the ruins of Babylon, were vastly 
superior. It was the counsel of Mosenna and the veteran Sabit 
that they should fall back into the deserts, and remain encamped 
there until reinforcements could be obtained from the Caliph. 
Abu Obeidah, however, was for a totally different course. He 
undervalued the prowess of the Persians; he had heard Mo- 
senna censured for want of enterprise, and Khaled extolled to 
the skies for his daring achievements in this quarter. He was 
determined to emulate them, to cross the Euphrates and attack 
the Persians in their encampment. In vain Mosenna and Sabit 
remonstrated. He caused a bridge of boats to be thrown across 
the Euphrates, and led the way to the opposite bank. His 
troops did not follow with their usual alacrity, for they felt the 



118 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



rashness of the enterprise. While they were yet crossing the 
bridge, they were severely galled by a body of archers, detached 
in the advance by Rustam ; and were met at the head of the 
bridge by that warrior, with his vanguard of cavalry. 

The conflict was severe. The banner of Islam passed from 
hand to hand of seven brave champions, as one after another 
fell in its defence. The Persians were beaten back, but now 
arrived the main body of the army with the thirty elephants. 
Abu Obeidah breasted fearlessly the storm of war which he 
had so rashly provoked. He called to his men not to fear the 
elephants, but to strike at their trunks. He himself severed, 
with a blow of his scimetar, the trunk of the famous white 
elephant, but in so doing his foot slipped, he fell to the earth, 
and was trampled to death by the enraged animal. 

The Moslems, disheartened by his loss, and overwhelmed 
by numbers, endeavoured to regain the bridge. The enemy 
had thrown combustibles into the boats on which it was con- 
structed, and had set them on fire. Some of the troops were 
driven into the water and perished there ; the main body re- 
treated along the river, protected in the rear by Mosenna, who 
now displayed the skill of an able general, and kept the enemy 
at bay until a slight bridge could be hastily thrown across 
another part of the river. He was the last to cross the bridge, 
and caused it to be broken behind him. 

Four thousand Moslems were either slain or drowned in 
this rash affair ; two thousand fled to Medina, and about three 
thousand remained with Mosenna, who encamped and intrenched 
them, and sent a fleet courier to the Caliph, entreating instant 
aid. Nothing saved this remnant of the army from utter 
destruction but a dissension which took place between the 
Persian commanders ; who, instead of following up their vic- 
tory, returned to Madayn, the Persian capital. 

This was the severest and almost the only severe check that 
Moslem audacity had for a long time experienced. It took 
place in the 13th year of the Hegira, and the year 634 of the 
Christian era ; and was long and ruefully remembered by the 
Arabs as the battle of " El Jisir," or The Battle of the Bridge. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Having received moderate reinforcements, Mosenna again 
took the field in Arab style, hovering about the confines of 
Babylonia, and sending detachments in different directions to 



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plunder and lay waste the country bordering on the Euphrates. 
It was an instance of the vicissitude of human affairs, and the 
instability of earthly grandeur, that this proud region, which 
once held the world in awe, should be thus marauded and in- 
sulted by a handful of predatory Arabs. 

To check their ravages, Queen Arzemia sent out a general 
named Mahran, with twelve thousand chosen cavalry. Mo- 
senna, hearing of their approach, called in his plundering par- 
ties and prepared for battle. The two hosts met near Hirah, 
on the borders of the desert. Mosenna, who, in the battle of 
the bridge had been the last man to retire, was now the fore- 
most man to charge. In the fury of the right he made his way, 
almost alone, into the heart of the Persian army, and with dif- 
ficulty fought his way out again and back to his own men. The 
Persians, as we have rioted, were chosen troops, and fought 
with unusual spirit. The Moslems, in some parts of the field, 
began to give way. Mosenna galloped up and threw 7 himself 
before them; he expostulated, he threatened, he tore his beard 
in the agony of his feelings ; he succeeded in leading them back 
to the fight ; w T hich endured from noon until sunset, and still 
continued doubtful. At the close of the day Mosenna encoun- 
tered Mahran hand to hand, in the midst of his guards, and re- 
ceived a powerful blow, w T hich might have proved fatal but for 
his armour. In return he smote the Persian commander with 
his scimetar just where the neck joins to the shoulder, and laid 
him dead. The Persians, seeing their leader fall, took to flight, 
nor stopped until they reached Madayn. 

The Moslems next made a plundering expedition to Bagdad, 
at that time a mere village, but noted for a great fair, the re- 
sort of merchants from various parts of the East. An Arab 
detachment pounced upon it at the time of the fair, and earned 
off many captives and immense booty. 

The tidings of the defeat of Mahran, and the plundering of 
the fair, spread consternation in the Persian capital. The 
nobles and priests, who had hitherto stood in awe of the spirit 
of the queen, now raised a tumult. " These are the fruits," 
said they, " of having a woman to reign over us." 

The fate of the beautiful Arzemia w T as hastened by private 
revenge. Faruch-Zad, one of the most powerful of her nobles, 
and governor of Khorassan, incited by love and ambition, had 
aspired to her hand. At first, it is said, she appeared to favour 
his addresses, fearing to provoke his enmity, but afterwards 



120 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



slighted them ; whereupon he entered the palace by night, and 
attempted to get possession of her person. His attempt failed, 
and, by her command, he received instant death at the hands of 
her guards, accompanied by some indignities. 

His son, Rustam, who had been left by him in the govern- 
ment of Khorassan, hastened, at the head of an armed force, to 
avenge his death. He arrived in the height of the public dis- 
content; entered the city without opposition, stormed the 
palace, captured the young- and beautiful queen, subjected her 
to degrading outrages, and put her to death in the most cruel 
manner. She was the sixth of the usurping sovereigns, and 
had not yet reigned a year. 

A remaining son of Khosru Parviz was now brought forward 
and placed on the slippery throne, but was poisoned within 
forty days, some say by his courtiers, others by a slave. 

The priests and nobles now elevated a youth about fifteen 
years of age to this perilous dignity. He was a grandson of 
Khosru Parviz, and had been secluded, during the late period 
of anarchy and assassination, in the city of Istakar, the ancient 
Persepolis. He is known by the name of Yezdegird III., 
though some historians call him Hermisdas IV., from his 
family, instead of his personal appellation. He was of a good 
natural disposition, but weak and irresolute, and apt, from his 
youth and inexperience, to become a passive instrument in the 
hands of the faction which had placed him on the throne. 

One of the first measures of the new reign was to assemble 
a powerful army and place it under the command of Rustam, 
the same general who had so signally revenged the death of 
his father. It was determined, by a signal blow, to sweep the 
Arabian marauders from the land. 

Omar, on his part, hearing of the changes and warlike pre- 
parations in the Persian capital, made a hasty levy of troops, 
and would have marched in person to carry the war into the 
heart of Persia. It was with great difficulty he was dissuaded 
from this plan by his discreet counsellors Othman and Ali, and 
induced to send in his place Saad Ibn Abu Wakkas. This 
was a zealous soldier of the faith, who used to boast that he 
was the first who had shed the blood of the unbelieving; and, 
moreover, that the prophet, in the first holy war, had intrusted 
to him the care of his household during his absence; saying, 
" To you, oh Saad, who are to me as my father and my mother, 
I confide my family." To have been a favoured and confiden- 



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tial companion of the prophet, was fast growing to be a title of 
great distinction among the faithful. 

Saad was invested with the general command of the forces 
in Persia ; and Mosenna, though his recent good conduct and. 
signal success entitled him to the highest consideration, was 
ordered to serve under him. 

Saad set out from Medina with an army of but six or 
seven thousand men; among these, however, were one thou- 
sand well-tried soldiers, who had followed the prophet in his 
campaigns, and one hundred of the veterans of Beder. They 
were led on also by some of the most famous champions of the 
faith. The army was joined on its march by recruits from all 
quarters, so that by the time it joined the troops under Mo- 
senna, it amounted to upwards of thirty thousand men. 

Mosenna died three days after the arrival of his successor in 
the camp ; the cause and nature of his death are not mentioned. 
He left behind him a good name, and a wife remarkable for 
her beauty. The widow was easily brought to listen to the 
addresses of Saad, who thus succeeded to Mosenna in his matri- 
monial as well as his military capacity. 

The Persian force, under Rustam, lay encamped at Kadesia 
(or Khadesiyah), on the frontier of Sawad or Irak-Arabi, and 
was vastly superior in numbers to the Moslems. Saad sent 
expresses to the Caliph entreating reinforcements. He was 
promised them, but exhorted in the mean time to doubt nothing; 
never to regard the number of the foe, but to think always that 
he was fighting under the eye of the Caliph. He was instructed, 
however, before commencing hostilities, to send a delegation to 
Yezdegird, inviting him to embrace the faith. 

Saad accordingly sent several of his most discreet and veteran 
officers on this mission. They repaired to the magnificent city 
of Madayn, and were ushered through the sumptuous halls and 
saloons of the palace of the Khosrus, crowded with guards and 
attendants all richly arrayed, into the presence of the youthful 
monarch, whom they found seated in state on a throne, sup- 
ported by silver columns, and surrounded by the dazzling 
splendour of an Oriental court. 

The appearance of the Moslem envoys, attired in simple 
Arab style, in the striped garments of Yemen, amidst the gor- 
geous throng of nobles arrayed in jewels and embroidery, was 
but little calculated to inspire deference in a young and incon- 
siderate prince, brought up in pomp and luxury, and accus- 



122 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



tomed to consider dignity inseparable from splendour. He 
had, no doubt, also been schooled for the interview by his crafty 
counsellors. 

The audience opened by a haughty demand on his part, 
through his interpreter, as to the object of then- embassy. Upa# 
this, one of their number, Na'man Ibn Muskry, set forth the 
divine mission of the prophet, and his dying command to en- 
force his religion by the sword, leaving no peaceable alternative 
to unbelievers but conversion or tribute. He concluded by in- 
viting" the kins; to embrace the faith; if not, to consent to be- 
come a tributary; if he should refuse both, to prepare for 
battle. 

Yezdegird restrained his indignation, and answered in words 
which had probably been prepared for him. " You Arabs," 
said he, " have hitherto been known to us by report, as 
wanderers of the desert ; your food dates, and sometimes lizards 
and serpents ; your drink brackish water ; your garments coarse 
hair-cloth. Some of you, who by chance have wandered into 
our realms, have found sweet water, savoury food, and soft 
raiment. They have carried back word of the same to their 
brethren in the desert, and now you come in swarms to rob us 
of our goods and our very land. Ye are like the starving fox, 
to whom the husbandman afforded shelter in his vineyard, and 
who, hi return, brought a troop of his brethren to devour his 
grapes. Receive from my generosity whatever your wants re- 
quire : load your camels with com and dates, and depart in 
peace to your native land; but if you tarry in Persia, beware 
the fate of the fox who was slain by the husbandman." 

The most aged of the Arab envoys, the Sheikh Mukair 
Ibn Zarrarah, replied with great gravity and decorum, and an 
unaltered countenance. <; Oh king ! all thou hast said of the 
Arabs is most true. The green lizard of the desert was their 
sometime food ; the brackish water of wells their drink ; their 
garments were of hair-cloth, and they buried their infant 
daughters to restrain the increase of their tribes. All this was 
in the days of ignorance. They knew not good from evil. 
They were guilty, and they suffered. But Allah, in his mercy, 
sent his apostle Mahomet and his sacred Koran among them. 
He rendered them wise and valiant. He commanded them to 
war with infidels until all should be converted to the true 
faith. On his behest we come. All we demand of thee is to 
acknowledge that there is no God but God, and that Mahomet 



OMAR. 



123 



is his apostle, and to pay from thy income the customary 
contribution of the Zacat, paid by all true believers, in charity 
to the poor, and for the support of the family of the prophet. 
Do this, and not a Moslem shall enter the Persian dominions 
without thy leave ; but if thou refuse it, and refuse to pay the 
tribute exacted from all unbelievers, prepare for the subjugation 
of the sword." 

The forbearance of Yezdegird was at an end. (i Were it 
not unworthy of a great Padischah," said he, " to put ambas- 
sadors to death, the sword should be the only tongue with which 
I would reply to your insolence. Away ! ye robbers of the 
lands of others ! take with ye a portion of the Persian soil ye 
crave." So saying, he caused sacks of earth to be bound upon 
their shoulders ; to be delivered by them to their chiefs as 
symbols of the graves they would be sure to find at Kadesia. 

When beyond the limits of the city, the envoys transferred 
the sacks of earth to the backs of their camels, and returned 
with them to Saad Ibn Abu Wakkas ; shrewdly interpreting 
into a good omen what had been intended by the Persian 
monarch as a scornful taunt. " Earth," say they, fi< is the 
emblem of empire. As surely, oh Saad, as we deliver thee 
these sacks of earth, so surely will Allah deliver the empire of 
Persia into the hands of true believers." 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
The hostile armies came in presence of each other on the 
plains of Kadesia (or Kadesiyah), adjacent to a canal derived 
from the Euphrates. The huge mass of the Persian army 
would have been sufficient to bear down the inferior number of 
the Moslems, had it possessed the Grecian or Roman discipline ; 
but it was a tumultuous multitude, unwieldy from its military 
pomp, and encumbered by its splendid trappings. The Arabs, 
on the contrary, were veteran skirmishers of the desert ; light 
and hardy horsemen ; dexterous with the bow and lance, and 
skilled to wheel and retreat, and to return again to the attack. 
Many individual acts of prowess took place between champions 
of either army, who dared each other to single combat in front 
of the hosts when drawn out in battle array. The cosdv 
armour of the Persians, wrought with gold, and their belts or 
girdles studded with gems, made them rich prizes to their 
Moslem victors; while the Persians, if victorious, gained nothing 
from the rudely clad warriors of the desert but honour and 
hard blows. 



124 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



Saad Ibn Abu Wakkas was in an unfortunate plight for a 
leader of an amir on such a momentous occasion. He was 
grievously afflicted with boils in his reins, so that he sat on his 
horse with extreme difficulty. Still he animated his troops by 
his presence, and gave the tekbir or battle-cry — Allah Achbar! 

The Persian force came on with great shouts : their elephants 
in the van. The horses of the Moslem cavalry recoiled at sight 
of the latter, and became unmanageable. A great number of 
the horsemen dismounted; attacked the unwieldiy animals with 
their swords, and drove them back upon their own host. Still 
the day went hard with the 3Ioslems; their force being so in- 
ferior, and their general unable to take the lead and mingle in 
the battle. The arrival of a reinforcement from Syria put them 
in new heart, and they fought on until the approach of night, 
when both parties desisted, and drew off to their encampments. 
Thus ended the first day's fight, which the Persians called the 
battle of Armath: but the Moslems, The Day of Succour, from 
the timely arrival of reinforcements. 

On the following morninorthe armies drew out asram in battle 
array, but no general conflict took place. Saad was unable to 
moimt his horse and lead his troops into action, and the Persians, 
aware of the reinforcements received by the Moslems, were not 
disposed to provoke a battle. The day passed in light skir- 
mishes and single combats between the prime warriors of either 
host, who defied each other to trials of skill and prowess. These 
combats, of course, were desperate, and commonly cost the life 
of one. if not both of the combatants. 

Saad overlooked the field from the shelter of a tent, where he 
sat at a repast with his beautiful bride beside him. Her heart 
swelled with grief at seeing so manv gallant Moslems laid low; 
a thought of the valiant husband she had lost passed across her 
mind, and the unwary ejaculation escaped her, " Alas! Mosenna 
Ibn Haris. where art thou?'' Saad was stung to the quick by 
what he conceived a reproach on his courage or activity, and, in 
the heat of the moment, struck her on the face with his dagger. 
; * To-morrow," muttered he to himself, " I will mount my 
horse.'' 

In the night he secretly sent out a detachment in the direc- 
tion of Damascus, to remain concealed until the two armies 
should be engaged on the following day, and then to come with 
banners displayed, and a great sound of drum and trumpet, as 
though they were a reinforcement hurrying to the field of 
action. 



OMAR. 



125 



The morning dawned, but still, to his great mortification, 
Saad was unable to sit upon his horse, and had to intrust the 
conduct of the battle to one of his generals. It was a day of 
bloody and obstinate conflict; arid from the tremendous shock of 
the encountering hosts, was celebrated among the Arabs as " The 
day of the Concussion." 

The arrival of the pretended reinforcement inspirited the 
Moslems, who were ignorant of the stratagem, and dismayed the 
enemy. Rustam urged on his elephants to break down the 
Arab host, but they had become familiar with those animals, and 
attacked them so vigorously, that, as before, they turned upon 
their own employers, and trampled them down in their un wieldly 
flight from the field. 

The battle continued throughout the day with varying for- 
tune; nor did it cease at nightfall, for Rustam rode about among 
his troops, urging them to fight until morning. That night was 
called by some the night of delirium; for in the dark and deadly 
struggle the combatants struck at random, and often caught each 
other by the beard : by others it was called the night of howling 
and lamentation, from the cries of the wounded. 

The battle ceased not even at the dawning, but continued 
until the heat of the day. A whirlwind of dust hid the armies 
from each other for a time, and produced confusion on the field; 
but it aided the Moslems, as it blew in the faces of the enemy. 
During a pause in the conflict, Rustam, panting with heat and 
fatigue, and half blinded with dust, took shelter from the sun 
under a tent which had been pitched near the water, and was 
surrounded by camels laden with treasure, and with the luxurious 
furniture of the camp. A gust of wind whirled the tent into 
the water. He then threw himself upon the earth in the shade 
of one of the camels. A band of Arab soldiers came upon him 
by surprise. One of them, Hellal Ibn Alkameh by name, in his 
eagerness for plunder, cut the cords which bound the burden on 
the camel. A package of silver fell upon Rustam and broke 
his spine. In his agony he fell, or threw himself into the water, 
but was drawn out by the leg, his head stricken off, and elevated 
on the lance of Hellal. The Persians recognised the bloody- 
features, and fled amain, abandoning to the victors their camp, 
with all its rich furniture and baggage, and scores of beasts of 
burden, laden with treasure and with costly gear. The amount 
of booty was incalculable. 

The sacred standard, too, was among the spoils. To the 



126 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



soldier who had captured it, thirty thousand pieces of gold are 
said to have been paid at Saad's command ; and the jewels, 
with which it was studded, were put with the other booty, to be 
shared according to rule. Hellal, too, who brought the head 
of Rustam to Saad, was allowed as a reward to strip the body 
of his victim. Never did Arab soldier make richer spoil. 
The garments of Rustam were richly embroidered, and he wore 
two gorgeous belts, ornamented with jewels, one worth a 
thousand pieces of gold, the other seventy thousand dirhems of 
silver. 

Thirty thousand Persians are said to have fallen in this battle, 
and upwards of seven thousand Moslems. The loss most de- 
plored by the Persians was that of their sacred banner, with 
which they connected the fate of the realm. 

This battle took place in the fifteenth year of the Hegira, 
and the six hundred and thirty-sixth year of the Christian era, 
and is said to be as famous among the Arabs as that of Arbela 
among the Greeks. 

Complaints having circulated amon^ the troops that Saad 
had not mingled in the fight, he summoned several of the old 
men to his tent, and, stripping himself, showed the boils by 
which he was so grievously afflicted ; after wdiich there were no 
further expressions of dissatisfaction. It is to be hoped he found 
some means, equally explicit, of excusing himself to his beau- 
tiful bride for the outrage he had committed upon her. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
After the signal victory of Kadesia, Saad Ibn Abu Wakkas, 
by command of the Caliph, remained for some months in the 
neighbourhood, completing the subjugation of the conquered 
country, collecting tax and tribute, and building mosques in 
every direction for the propagation of the faith. About the 
same time Omar caused the city of Basra, or Bassora, to be 
founded in the lower part of Irak-Arabi, on that great river 
formed by the junction of the Euphrates and the Tigris. This 
city was intended to protect the region conquered by the Mos- 
lems about the mouth of the Euphrates ; to cut off the trade 
of India from Persia, and to keep a check upon Ahwaz (a part 
of Susiana or Khusestan), the prince or satrap of which, Hor- 
musan by name, had taken an active part in the late battle of 
Kadesia. The city of Bassora was founded in the fourteenth 
year of the Hegira, by Orweh Ibn Otbeh. It soon gathered 



OMAR. 



127 



within its walls great numbers of inhabitants from the surround- 
ing country, rose rapidly in importance, and has ever since been 
distinguished as a mart for the Indian commerce. 

Having brought all the country in the neighbourhood of 
Kadesia into complete subjection, Saad Ibn Abu Wakkas, by 
command of the Caliph, proceeded in the conquest of Persia. 
The late victories, and the capture of the national banner, had 
struck despair into the hearts of the Persians. They considered 
the downfall of their religion and empire at hand, and for a 
time made scarcely any resistance to the invaders. Cities and 
strongholds surrendered almost without a blow. Babel is inci- 
dentally enumerated among the captured places ; but the once 
all-powerful Babylon was now shrunk into such insignificance 
that its capture seemed not worthy of a boast. Saad crossed 
the Tigris, and advanced upon Madayn, the Persian capital. 
His army, on departing from Kadesia, had not exceeded twenty 
thousand men, having lost many by battle, and more by disease. 
Multitudes, however, from the subjugated cities, and from 
other parts, joined his standard while on the march ; so that, 
as he approached Madayn, his forces amounted to sixty thou- 
sand men. 

There was abundance of troops in Madayn, the wrecks of 
vanquished armies and routed garrisons, but there was no one 
capable or willing to take the general command. All seemed 
paralysed by their fears. The king summoned his counsellors 
about him, but their only advice was to fly. " Khorasan and 
Kerman are still yours," said they : " let us depart while we 
may do so in safety; why should we remain here to be made 
captives ?' ? 

Yezdegird hesitated to take this craven advice, buf more from 
weakness and indecision of character than from any manly re- 
pugnance. He wavered and lingered, until what might have 
been an orderly retreat became a shameful flight. When the 
invaders were within one day's march of his capital, he ordered 
bis valuables to be packed upon beasts of burden, and set off, 
with a worthless retinue of palace minions, attendants, and 
slaves, male and female, for Hohvan, at the foot of the 3Iedean 
hills. His example was followed throughout the city. There 
was hurry and tumult in every part. Fortunate was he who 
had a camel, or a horse, or an ass, to load with his most 
valuable effects. Such as were not so provided took what they 
could on their shoulders ; but, in such a hasty and panic-stricken 



128 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



flight, where personal safety was the chief concern, little could 
be preserved ; the greater part of their riches remained behind. 
Thus the wealthy Madayn. the once famous Ctesiphon. which 
had formerly repulsed a Roman arm v. though furnished with 
battering-rams and other warlike engines, was abandoned with- 
out a blow at the approach of these nomad warriors. 

As Saad entered the deserted city, he gazed with wonder and 
admiration at its stately edifices, surrounded bv vineyards and 
gardens, all left to his mercy by the riving owners. In pious 
exultation, he repeated aloud a passage of the Koran, alluding 
to the abandonment by Pharaoh and his troops of their habita- 
tions, when they went in pursuit of the children of Israel. 
" How many gardens and fountains, and fields of corn and fair 
dwellings, and other sources of delight, did they leave behind 
them! Thus we dispossessed them thereof, and gave the same 
for an inheritance to another people. Neither heaven nor earth 
wept for them. They were un pitied."* 

The deserted city was sacked and pillaged. One may ima- 
gine the sacking of such a place by the ignorant hordes of the 
desert. The rude Arabs beheld themselves surrounded by trea- 
sures beyond then conception — works of art. the value of which 
thev could not appreciate, and articles of luxury which moved 
their ridicule rather than then admiration. In roving through 
the streets, they came to the famous palace of the Khosrus. 
begun by Kobad Ibn Firuz. and finished by his son Xushirwan. 
constructed of polished marble, and called the White Palace, 
from its resplendent appearance. As they gazed at it in won- 
derment, thev called to mind the prediction of Mahomet, when 
he heard that the haughty monarch of Persia had torn his 
letter : " Even so shall Allah rend his empire in pieces. 7 * 
u Behold the white palace of Khosru," cried the Moslems to 
one another I M This is the fulfilment of the prophecy of the 
apostle of God!" 

Saad entered the lofty portal of the palace with feelings of 
devotion. His first act was to make his salaam and prostra- 
tions, and pronounce the confession of faith in its deserted halls. 
He then took note of its contents, and protected it from the 
ravage of the soldiery, by making it his head-quarters. It was 
furnished throughout with Oriental luxury. It had wardrobes 
filled with gorgeous apparel. In the armoury were weapons of 
all kinds, magnificently wrought ; a coat of mail and sword, for 
* Koran, chapter xxiv. 



OMAR. 



129 



state occasions, bedecked with jewels of incalculable value ; a 
silver horseman on a golden horse, and a golden rider on a 
silver camel, all likewise studded with jewels. 

In the vaults were treasures of gold and silver, and precious 
stones, with money, the vast amount of which, though stated 
by Arabian historians, we hesitate to mention. 

In some of the apartments were gold and silver vessels, filled 
with Oriental perfumes. In the magazines were stored exquisite 
spices, odoriferous gums, and medicinal drugs. Among the 
latter were quantities of camphor, which the Arabs mistook for 
salt, and mixed with their food. 

In one of the chambers was a silken carpet of great size, 
which the king used in winter. Art and expense had been 
lavished upon it. It was made to represent a garden. The 
leaves of the plants were emeralds ; the flowers were embroi- 
dered in their natural colours, with pearls and jewels, and pre- 
cious stones ; the fountains were wrought with diamonds and 
sapphires, to represent the sparkling of their waters. The 
value of the whole was beyond calculation. 

The hall of audience surpassed every other part in magnifi- 
cence. The vaulted roof, says D'Herbolot, resembled a firma- 
ment decked with golden spheres, each with a corresponding 
movement, so as to represent the planets and the signs of the 
Zodiac. The throne was of prodigious grandeur, supported on 
silver columns. Above it was the crown of Khosru Nashirwan, 
suspended by a golden chain, to bear the immense weight of 
its jewels, but contrived to appear as if on the head of the 
monarch when seated. 

A mule is said to have been overtaken, on which a trusty 
officer of the palace was bearing away some of the jewels of 
the crown, the tiara or diadem of Yezdegird, with his belt and 
scimetar and bracelets. 

Saad appointed Omar Ibn Muskry to take charge of all the 
spoils for regular distribution, and criers were sent about to 
make proclamation that the soldiers should render in their booty 
to that officer. Such was the enormous amount that, after a 
fifth had been set apart for the Caliph, the remainder, divided 
among sixty thousand men, gave each of them twelve hundred 
dirhems of silver. 

It took nine hundred heavily laden camels to convey to 
Medina the Caliph's fifth of the spoil, among which the carpet, 
the clothing, and regalia of the king were included. The 



130 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



people of Medina, though of late years accustomed to the rich 
booty of the armies, were astonished at such an amount of 
treasure. Omar ordered that a mosque should be built of part 
of the proceeds. A consultation was held over the royal carpet, 
whether it should be stored away in the public treasury to be 
used by the Caliph on state occasions, or whether it should be 
included in the booty to be shared. 

Omar hesitated to decide with his usual promptness, and 
referred the matter to Ali. " Oh, prince of true believers!" 
exclaimed the latter, " how can one of thy clear perception 
doubt in this matter. In the world nothing is thine but what 
thou expendest in well doing. What thou wearest will be 
worn out; what thou eatest will be consumed; but that which 
thou expendesb in well doing*, is sent before thee to the other 
world." 

Omar determined that the carpet should be shared among 
his chiefs. He divided it literally, with rigid equity, cutting 
it up without regard to the skill and beauty of the design, or 
its value as an entire piece of workmanship. Such was the 
richness of the materials, that the portion allotted to Ali alone 
sold for eight thousand dirhems of silver. 

This signal capture of the capital of Persia took place in 
the month Safar, in the sixteenth year of the Hegira, and the 
year 637 of the Christian era; the same year with the capture 
of Jerusalem. The fame of such immense spoil, such treasures 
of art in the hands of ignorant Arab soldiery, summoned the 
craftv and the avaricious from all quarters. All the world, it 
is said, flocked from the West, from Yemen, and from Egypt, 
to purchase the costly stuffs captured from the Persians. It 
was like the vultures, winging their way from all j3arts of the 
heavens to gorge on the relics of a hunting camp. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Saad Lbs Abu Wakkas would fain have pursued Yezdegird 
to Holwan, among the hills of ancient Media, where he had 
taken refuge ; but he was restrained by the Caliph Omar, who 
kept a cautious check from Medina upon his conquering 
generals ; fearful that in the flush and excitement of victory, 
they might hurry forward beyond the reach of succour. By 
the command of Omar, therefore, he remained with his main 
army in Madayn, and sent his brother Hashem with twelve 
thousand men in pursuit of the fugitive monarch. Hashem 



OMAR. 



round a large force of Persians, relics of defeated armies, assem- 
bled in Jalula, not far from Holwan, where they were disposed 
to make a stand. He laid siege to the place, but it was of 
great strength, and maintained a brave and obstinate defence 
for six months, during which there were eighty assaults. At 
length, the garrison being* reduced by famine and incessant 
fieriting 1 , and the commander slain, it surrendered. 

Yezdegird, on hearing of the capture of Jalula, abandoned 
the city of Holwan, leaving troops there under a general named 
Habesh, to check the pursuit of the enemy. The place of refuge 
which he now sought was the city of Rei, or Ra'i, the Rhages 
of Arrian ; the Rhaga and Rhageia of the Greek geographers ; 
a city of remote antiquity, contemporary, it is said, with Ni- 
neveh and Ecbatana, and mentioned in the book of Tobit ; 
who, we are told, travelled from Nineveh to Rages, a city of 
Medea. It was a favourite residence of the Parthian kings in 
days of yore. In his flight through the mountains, the monarch 
was borne on a chair or litter between mules : travelling a 
station each day, and sleeping in the litter. Habesh, whom he 
had left behind, was soon defeated, and followed him in his 
flight. 

Saad again wrote to the Caliph, urging that he might be 
permitted to follow the Persian king to his place of refuge 
among the mountains, before he should have time to assemble 
another army ; but he again met with a cautious check. " You 
have this year," said the Caliph, " taken Sawad and Irak ; for 
Holwan is at the extremity of Irak. That is enough for the 
present. The welfare of true believers is of more value than 
booty." So ended the sixteenth year of the Hegira. 

The climate of Madayn proving unhealthy to his troops, 
and Saad wishing to establish a fortified camp in the midst of 
his victories, was ordered by the Caliph to seek some favourable 
site on the w r estern side of the Euphrates, where there was good 
air, a w 7 ell- watered plain, and plenty of grass for the camels ; 
things highly appreciated by the Arabs. 

Saad chose for the purpose the village of Cufa, which, 
according to Moslem tradition, was the spot where Noah em- 
barked in the Ark. The Arabs further pretend that the serpent 
after tempting Eve was banished to this place. Hence, thev 
say, the guile and treachery for which the men of Cufa are 
proverbial. This city became so celebrated that the Euphrates 
was at one time generally denominated Nahar Cufa, or the 

k 2 



132 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



river of Cufa. The most ancient characters of the Arabic 
alphabet are termed Cuflc to the present day. 

In building Cufa, much of the stone, marble, and timber, 
for the principal edifices, were furnished from the ruins of 
Madayn; there being such a scarcity of those materials in 
Babylonia and its vicinity, that the houses were generally con- 
structed of bricks baked in the sun, and cemented with bitumen. 
It used to be said, therefore, that the army on its remove took 
with it all the houses of Sawad. Saad Ibn Abu Wakkas, who 
appears to have imbibed a taste for Persian splendour, erected 
a sumptuous Kiosk or summer residence, and decorated it with 
a grand portal taken from the palace of the Khosrus at Madayn. 
When Omar heard of this he was sorely displeased, his great 
apprehension being that his generals would lose the good old 
Arab simplicity of manners in the luxurious countries they were 
conquering. He forthwith despatched a trusty envoy, Mahomet 
Ibn Muslemah, empowered to give Saad a salutary rebuke. On 
arriving at Cufa, Mahomet caused a great quantity of wood to 
be heaped against the door of the Kiosk, and set fire to it. 
When Saad came forth in amazement at this outrage, Mahomet 
put into his hands the following letter from the Caliph : — 

" I am told thou hast built a lofty palace, like to that of the 
Khosrus, and decorated it with a door taken from the latter, 
with a view to have guards and chamberlains stationed about it, 
to keep off those who may come in quest of justice or assistance, 
as was the practice of the Khosrus before thee. In so doing 
thou hast departed from the ways of the prophet (on whom be 
benedictions), and hast fallen into the ways of the Persian 
monarchs. Know that the Khosrus have passed from their 
palace to the tomb ; while the prophet, from his lowly habita- 
tion on earth, has been elevated to the highest heaven. I 
have sent Mahomet Ibn Muslemah to burn thy palace. In this 
world two houses are sufficient for thee ; one to dwell in, the 
other to contain the treasure of the Moslems." 

Saad was too wary to make any opposition to the orders of 
the stern-minded Omar, so he looked on without a murmur as 
his stately Kiosk was consumed by the flames. He even 
offered Mahomet presents, which the latter declined, and re- 
turned to Medina. Saad removed to a different part of the 
city, and built a more modest mansion for himself and another 
for the treasury. 

In the same year with the founding of Cufa, the Caliph 



OMAR. 



133 



Omar married Omm Kolsam, the daughter of Ali and Fatima, 
and granddaughter of the prophet. This drew him in still 
closer bonds of friendship and confidence with Ali ; who with 
Othman shared his councils, and aided him in managing from 
Medina the rapidly accumulating affairs of the Moslem empire. 

It must be always noted that, however stern and strict 
may appear the laws and ordinances of Omar, he was rigidly 
impartial in enforcing them; and one of his own sons, having 
been found intoxicated, received the twenty bastinadoes on the 
soles of the feet, which he had decreed for offences of the kind. 

CHAPTER XXX. 
The founding of the city of Bassora had given great annoy- 
ance and uneasiness to Hormuzan, the satrap or viceroy of 
Ahwaz, or Susiana. His province lay between Babylonia and 
Farsistan, and he saw that this rising city of the Arabs was 
intended as a check upon him. His province was one of the 
richest and most important of Persia, producing cotton, rice, 
sugar, and wheat. It was studded with cities, which the his- 
torian Tabari compared to a cluster of stars. In the centre 
stood the metropolis Susa ; one of the royal resorts of the Per- 
sian kings, celebrated in scriptural history, and said to possess 
the tomb of the prophet Daniel. It was once adorned with 
palaces and courts, and parks of prodigious extent, though now 
all is a waste, " echoing only to the roar of the lion or yell of 
the hyaena." 

Here Hormuzan, the satrap, emulated the state and luxury 
of a king. He was of a haughty spirit, priding himself upon 
his descent, his ancestors having once sat on the throne of 
Persia. For this reason his sons, being of the blood royal, 
were permitted to wear crowns, though of smaller size than 
those worn by kings, and his family was regarded with great 
deference by the Persians. 

This haughty satrap, not rendered wary by the prowess of 
the Moslem arms, which he had witnessed and experienced at 
Kadesia, made preparations to crush the rising colony of Bas- 
sora. The founders of that city called on the Caliph for pro- 
tection, and troops were marched to their assistance from Me- 
dina, and from the head-quarters of Saad at Cufa. Hormuzan 
soon had reason to repent his having provoked hostilities. He 
was defeated in repeated battles, and at length was glad to 
make peace with the loss of half of his territories, and all but 



134 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



four of his cluster of cities. He was not permitted long to 
enjoy even this remnant of domain. Yezdegird, from his 
retreat at Rei, reproached Hormuzan and the satrap of the 
adjacent province of Farsistan, for not co-operating to with- 
stand the Moslems. At his command they united their forces, 
and Hormuzan broke the treaty of peace which he had so re- 
cently concluded. 

The devotion of Hormuzan to his fugitive sovereign ended 
in his ruin. The Caliph ordered troops to assemble from the 
different Moslem posts, and complete the conquest of Ahwaz. 
Hormuzan disputed his territory bravely, but was driven from 
place to place, until he made his last stand in the fortress of 
Ahwaz, or Susa. For six months he was beleaguered, during 
which time there were many sallies and assaults, and hard 
fighting on both sides. At length Bara Ibn Malek was sent 
to take command of the besiegers. He had been an especial 
favourite of the prophet, and there was a superstitious feeling 
concerning him. He manifested at all times an indifference to 
life or death; always pressed forward to the place of danger, 
and every action in which he served was successful. 

On his taking the command, the troops gathered round him. 
" Oh Bara! swear to overthrow these infidels, and the Most 
High will favour us." 

Bara swore that the place would be taken, and the infidels 
put to flight, but that he would fall a martyr. 

In the very next assault he was killed by an arrow sped by 
Hormuzan. The army took his death as a good omen. " One- 
half of his oath is fulfilled," said they, " and so will be the 
other." 

Shortly afterward a Persian traitor came to Abu Shebrah, 
who had succeeded to the Moslem command, and revealed a 
secret entrance by a conduit under the castle, by which it was 
supplied with water. A hundred Moslems entered it by night, 
threw open the outward gates, and let in the army into the 
court-yards. Hormuzan was ensconced, however, in a strong 
tower or keep, from the battlements of which he held a parley 
with the Moslem commander. " I have a thousand expert 
archers with me," said he, "who never miss their aim. By 
every arrow they discharge you will lose a man. Avoid this 
useless sacrifice. Let me depart in honour; give me safe con- 
duct to the Caliph, and let him dispose of me as he pleases." 

It was agreed. Hormuzan was treated with respect as he 



OMAR. 



135 



issued from his. fortress, and was sent under an escort to Me- 
dina. He maintained the air of one not conducted as a pri- 
soner, but attended by a guard of honour. As he approached 
the city he halted, arrayed himself in sumptuous apparel, with 
his jewelled belt and regal crown, and in this guise entered 
the gates. The inhabitants gazed in astonishment at such un- 
wonted luxury of attire. 

Omar was not at his dwelling; he had gone to the mosque. 
Hormuzan was conducted thither. On approaching the sacred 
edifice the Caliph's cloak was seen hanging against the wall, 
while he himself, arrayed in patched garments, lay asleep with 
his staff under his head. The officers of the escort seated 
themselves at a respectful distance until he should awake. 
" This," whispered they to Hormuzan, "is the prince of true 
believers." 

"This the Arab king!" said the astonished satrap; "and 
is this his usual attire?" " It is." " And does he sleep thus 
without guards?" " He does ; he comes and goes alone; and 
lies down and sleeps where he pleases." " And can he ad- 
minister justice and conduct affairs without officers and mes- 
sengers and attendants?" "Even so," was the reply. "This," 
exclaimed Hormuzan at length, "is the condition of a pro- 
phet, but not of a king." "He is not a prophet/' was the 
reply, " but he acts like one." 

As the Caliph awoke he recognised the officers of the escort. 
" What tidings do you bring ?" demanded he. " But who is 
this so extravagantly arrayed ?" rubbing his eyes as they fell 
upon the embroidered robes and jewelled crown of the satrap. 
" This is Hormuzan, the king of Ahwaz." " Take the infidel 
out of this place !" cried he, turning away his head. " Strip 
him of his riches, and put on him the riches of Islam." 

Hormuzan was accordingly taken forth, and in a little time 
was brought again before the Caliph, clad in a simple garb of 
the striped cloth of Yemen. 

The Moslem writers relate various quibbles by which Hor- 
muzan sought to avert the death with which he was threatened, 
for having slain Bara Ibn Malek. He craved water to allay 
his thirst. A vessel of water was brought. Affecting to 
apprehend immediate execution : " Shall I be spared until I 
have drunk this ?" Being answered by the Caliph in the 
affirmative, he dashed the vessel to the ground. " Now," said 
he, "you cannot put me to death, for I can never drink the 
water." 



136 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



The straightforward Omar, however, was not to be caught 
by a quibble. " Your cunning will do you no good," said he. 
' 1 Xothing will save you but to embrace Islamism." The 
haughty Hormuzan was subdued. He made the profession of 
faith in due style, and was at once enrolled among true 
believers. 

He resided thenceforth in Medina ; received rich presents 
from the Caliph, and subsequently gave him much serviceable 
information and advice in his prosecution of the war with 
Persia. The conquest of Ahwaz was completed in the nine- 
teenth year of the Hegira. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Omar, as we have seen, kept a jealous and vigilant eye upon 
his distant generals ; being constantly haunted by the fear that 
they would become corrupted in the rich and luxurious countries 
they were invading, and lose that Arab simplicity which he 
considered inestimable in itself, and all-essential to the success 
of the cause of Islam. Notwithstanding the severe reproof he 
had given to Saad Ibn Abu Wakkas in burning down his 
palace at Cufa, complaints still reached him that the general 
affected the pomp of a Caliph, that he was unjust and oppres- 
sive ; unfair in the division of spoils, and slow in conducting 
military concerns. These charges proved, for the most part, 
unfounded, but they caused Saad to be suspended from his com- 
mand until they could be investigated. 

When the news reached Yezdegird at Rei that the Moslem 
general who had conquered at Kadesia, slain Rustam, captured 
Madayn, and driven himself to the mountains, was deposed 
from the command, he conceived fresh hopes, and wrote letters 
to all the provinces yet unconquered, calling on the inhabitants 
to take up arms and make a grand effort for the salvation of 
the empire. Xehavend was appointed as the place where the 
troops were to assemble. It was a place of great antiquity, 
founded, says tradition, by Xoah, and called after him, and was 
about fifteen leagues from Hamadan, the ancient Ecbatana. 
Here troops gathered together to the number of one hundred 
and fifty thousand. 

Omar assembled his counsellors at the mosque of Medina, 
and gave them intelligence, just received, of this great arma- 
ment. " This," said he, c< is probably the last great effort of 
the Persians. If we defeat them now they will never be able 
to unite again." He expressed a disposition, therefore, to take 



OMAR. 



137 



the command in person. Strong objections were advanced. 
"Assemble troops from various parts," said Othman; " but 
remain, yourself, either at Medina, Cufa, or Hoi wan, to send 
reinforcements if required, or to form a rallying point for the 
Moslems, if defeated." Others gave different counsel. At 
length the matter was referred to Abbas Ibn Abd al Motalleb, 
who was considered one of the sagest heads for counsel in the 
tribe of Koreish. He gave it as his opinion that the Caliph 
should remain in Medina, and give the command of the cam- 
paign to Nu'man Ibn Mukry, who was already in Ahwaz, 
where he had been ever since Saad had sent him thither from 
Irak. It is singular to see the fate of the once mighty and 
magnificent empires of the Orient, Syria, Chaldea, Babylonia, 
and the dominions of the Medes and Persians, thus debated 
and decided in the mosque of Medina, by a handful of grey- 
headed Arabs, who but a few years previously had been homeless 
fugitives. 

Orders were now sent to Nu'man to march to Nehavend, 
and reinforcements joined him from Medina, Bassora, and 
Cufa. His force, when thus collected, was but moderate, but 
it was made up of men hardened and sharpened by incessant 
warfare, rendered daring and confident by repeated victory, and 
led by able ofhcers. He was afterwards joined by ten thousand 
men from Sawad, Holwan, and other places, many of whom 
were tributaries. 

The Persian army now collected at Nehavend was com- 
manded by Firuzan ; he was old and infirm, but full of intel- 
ligence and spirit, and the only remaining general considered 
capable of taking charge of such a force, the best generals 
having fallen in battle. The veteran, knowing the impetuosity 
of the Arab attack, and their superiority in the open field, had 
taken a strong position, fortified his camp, and surrounded it 
with a deep moat filled with water. Here he determined to 
tire out the patience of the Moslems, and await an opportunity 
to strike a decisive blow. 

Nu'man displayed his forces before the Persian camp, and 
repeatedly offered battle, but the cautious veteran was not to 
be drawn out of his intrenchments. Two months elapsed 
without any action, and the Moslem troops, as Firuzan had 
foreseen, began to grow discontented, and to murmur at their 
general. 

A stratagem was now resorted to by Nu'man to draw out 



138 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



the enemy. Breaking up his camp, he made a hastv retreat, 
leaving behind him many articles of little value. The strata- 
gem succeeded. The Persians sallied, though cautiously, in 
pursuit. Xu'man continued Ids feigned retreat for another 
day. still followed by the enemy. Having drawn them to a 
sufficient distance from their fortified camp, he took up a posi- 
tion at nightfall. " To-morrow.'' said he to his troops. " before 
the day reddens, be ready for battle. I have been with the 
prophet in many conflicts, and he always commenced battle 
after the Friday prayer.'' 

The following day, when the troops were drawn out in order 
of battle, he made this prayer in their presence. " Oh Allah ! 
sustain this day the cause of Islamism : give us victorv over 
the infidels, and grant me the glory of martyrdom." Then 
turning to his officers, he expressed a presentiment that he 
should fall in the battle, and named the person who. in such 
case, should take the command. 

He now appointed the signal for battle. " Three times,'* 
said he, 6 I will cry the tekbir, and each time will shake my 
standard. At the third time let every one fall on as I shall 
do." He gave the signal, Allah Achbar ! Allah Achbar ! 
Allah Achbar! At the third shaking of the standard, the 
tekbir was responded by the army, and the air was rent by the 
universal shout of Allah Achbar ! 

The shock of the two armies was terrific ; they were soon 
enveloped in a cloud of dust, in which the sound of scimetars 
and battle-axes told the deadly work that was going on ; while 
the shouts of Allah Achbar continued, mingled with furious 
cries and execrations of the Persians, and dismal groans of the 
wounded. In an hour the Persians were completely routed. 
"Oh Lord!" exclaimed Xu'man in pious ecstasy, "nay prayer 
for victory has been heard ; may that for martyrdom be like- 
wise favoured!" 

He advanced his standard in pursuit of the enemy, but at 
the same moment a Parthian arrow from the flying foe gave 
him the death he coveted. His body, with the face covered, 
was conveyed to his brother, and his standard given to Hadifah. 
whom he had named to succeed him in the command. 

The Persians were pursued with great slaughter. Firuzan 
fled towards Hamadan, but was overtaken at midnight as he 
was ascending a steep hill, embarrassed among a crowd of mules 
and camels laden with the luxurious superfluities of a Persian 



OMAE. 



139 



camp. Here he and several thousand of his soldiers and camp- 
followers were cut to pieces. The booty was immense. Forty 
of the mules were found to be laden with honey, which made 
the Arabs say with a sneer, that Firuzan's army was clogged 
with its own honey, until overtaken by the true believers. The 
whole number of Persians slain in this battle, which sealed the 
fate of the empire, is said to have amounted to one hundred 
thousand. It took place in the twenty -first year of the Hegira, 
and the year 641 of the Christian era, and was commemorated 
among Moslems as "The Victory of Victories." 

On a day subsequent to the battle, a man, mounted on an ass, 
rode into the camp of Hadifeh. He was one who had served in 
the temples of the fire-worshippers, and was in great consterna- 
tion, fearing to be sacrificed by the fanatic Moslems. " Spare 
my life," said he to Hadifeh, " and the life of another person 
whom I shall designate, and I will deliver into your hands a 
treasure put under my charge by Yezdegird when he fled to 
Rei." His terms being promised, he produced a sealed box. 
On breaking the seal, Hadifeh found it filled with rubies and 
precious stones of various colours, and jewels of great price. He 
was astonished at the sight of what appeared to him incalcu- 
lable riches. " These jewels," said he, " have not been gaiued 
in battle, nor by the sword ; we have, therefore, no right to any 
share in them." With the concurrence of his officers, therefore, 
he sent the box to the Caliph, to be retained by himself or 
divided among the true believers, as he should think proper. 
The officer who conducted the fifth part of the spoils to Medina, 
delivered the box, and related its history to Omar. The Caliph, 
little skilled in matters of luxury, and holding them in supreme 
contempt, gazed with an ignorant or scornful eye at the 
imperial jewels, and refused to receive them. " You know not 
what these things are," said he. " Neither do I; but they 
justly belong to those who slew the infidels, and to no one else." 
He ordered the officer, therefore, to depart forthwith and carry 
the box back to Hadifeh. The jewels were sold by the latter to 
the merchants who followed the camp, and when the proceeds 
were divided among the troops, each horseman received for his 
share four thousand pieces of gold. 

Far other was the conduct of the Caliph when he received 
the letter giving an account of the victory at Nehavend. His 
first inquiry was after his old compauion in the faith, Nu'man. 
u May God grant you and him mercy !" was the reply. " He 
has become a martyr!" 



140 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



Oniar, it is said, wept. He next inquired who also were 
martyrs. Several were named with whom he was acquainted; 
but many who were unknown to him. " If I know them not/' 
said he. piously quoting a text of the Koran, u God does !" 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

The Persian troops who had survived the signal defeat of 
Firuzau. assembled their broken forces near the city of Hamadan, 
but were soon routed again by a detachment sent against them 
by Hadifeh, who had fixed his head-quarters at Xehavend. 
They then took refuge in Hamadan, and ensconced themselves 
in its strong fortress or citadel. 

Hamadan was the second city in Persia for grandeur, and 
was built upon the site of Ecbatana, in old times the principal 
city of the Medes. There were more Jews among its inhabitants 
than were to be found in any other city of Persia, and it boasted 
of possessing the tombs of Esther and Mordecai. It was situ- 
ated on a steep eminence, down the sides of which it descended 
into a fruitful plain, watered by streams gushing down from the 
loftv Orontes. now Mount Elwand. The place was commanded 
by Habesh, the same general who had been driven from 
Holwan after the flight of Yezderird. Habesh sought an inter- 
view with Hadifeh, at his encampment at Xehavend, and made 
a treaty of peace with him ; but it was a fraudulent one, and 
intended merely to gain time. Returning to Hamadan, he 
turned the whole citv into a fortress, and assembled a strong 
garrison, being reinforced from the neighbouring province of 
Azerbijan. 

On being informed of this want of good faith on the part of 
the governor of Hamadan, the Caliph Omar despatched a strong 
force against the place, led by an able officer named Xu 'haim 
Ibn Mukrin. Habesh had more courage than caution. Con- 
fident in the large force he had assembled, instead of remaining 
within his strongly-fortified citv, he sallied forth and met the 
Moslems in open field. The battle lasted for three days, and 
was harder fought than even that of Xehavend. but ended in 
leaving the Moslems triumphant masters of the once formidable 
capital of 3Iedia. 

Xu'haim now marched against Rei, late the place of refuge 
of Yezdegird. That prince, however, had deserted it on the 
approach of danger, leaving it in charge of a noble named 
Siyawesh Ibn Barham. Hither the Persian princes had sent 
troops from the vet unconquered provinces, for Siyawesh had 



OMAR. 



141 



nobly offered to make himself as a buckler to them, and con- 
quer or fall in their defence. His patriotism was unavailing ; 
treachery and corruption were too prevalent among the Persians. 
Zain, a powerful noble resident in Rei, and a deadly enemy of 
Siyawesh, conspired to admit two thousand Moslems in at one 
gate of the city, at the time when its gallant governor was 
making a sally by another. A scene of tumult and carnage 
took place in the streets, where both armies engaged in deadly 
conflict. The patriot Siyawesh was slain with a great part of 
his troops ; the city was captured and sacked, and its citadel 
destroyed, and the traitor Zain was rewarded for his treachery 
by being made governor of the ruined place. 

Nu'haim now sent troops in different directions against 
Kumish, and Dameghan, and Jurgan (the ancient Hircania), 
and Tabaristan. They met with feeble resistance. The na- 
tional spirit was broken; even the national religion was nearly 
at an end. " This Persian religion of ours has become obso- 
lete," said Farkham, a military sage, to an assemblage of com- 
manders, who asked his advice ; " the new religion is carrying 
everything before it ; my advice is to make peace and pay 
tribute." His advice was adopted. All Tabaristan became 
tributary in the annual sum of five hundred thousand dirhems, 
with the condition that the Moslems should levy no troops in 
that quarter. 

Azerbijan was next invaded ; the country which had sent 
troops to the aid of Hamadan. This province lay north of 
Rei and Hamadan, and extended to the Rocky Caucasus. It 
was the stronghold of the Magians or Fire-worshippers, where 
they had their temples, and maintained their perpetual fire. 
Hence the name of the country, Azer signifying fire. The 
princes of the country made an ineffectual stand ; their army 
was defeated; the altars of the fire- worshippers were over- 
turned; their temples destroyed, and Azerbijan won. 

The arms of Islam had now been carried triumphantly to the 
very defiles of the Caucasus ; those mountains were yet to be 
subdued. Their rocky sierras on the east separated Azerbijan 
from Haziz and the shores of the Caspian, and on the north 
from the vast Sarmatian regions. The passes through these 
mountains were secured of yore by fortresses and walls and 
iron gates, to bar against irruptions from the shadowy land of 
Gog and Magog, the terror of the olden time ; for by these 
passes had poured in the barbarous hordes of the north, "a 



142 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



mighty host, all riding upon horses/' who lived in tents, wor- 
shipped the naked sword planted in the earth, and decorated 
their steeds with the scalps of their enemies slain in battle.* 

Detachments of Moslems, under different leaders, penetrated 
the defiles of these mountains and made themselves masters of 

* By some, Gog and Magog are taken in an allegorical sense, signify- 
ing the princes of heathendom, enemies of saints and the church. 

According to the prophet Ezekiel, Gog was the King of Magog; Ma- 
gog signifying the people, and Gog the king of the country. They are 
names that loom vaguely and fearfully in the dark denunciations of the 
prophets; and in the olden time inspired awe throughout the eastern 
world. 

The Arabs, says Lane, call Gog and Magog, Yajuj and Majuj, and 
say they are two nations or tribes descended from Japhet the son of 
Noah; or, as others write, Gog is a tribe of the Turks, and Magog 
those of Gilan ; the Geli and the Gelas of Ptolemy and Strabo. They 
made their irruptions into the neighbouring countries in the spring, 
and carried off all the fruits of the earth. — Sale's Koran, note to 
chap. 18. 

According to Moslem belief, a great irruption of Gog and Magog is 
to be one of the signs of the latter days, forerunning the resurrection 
and final judgment. They are to come from the north in a mighty 
host, covering the land as a cloud; so that when subdued, their shields 
and bucklers, their bows and arrows and quivers, and the staves of 
their spears, shall furnish the faithful with fuel for seven years. — All 
which is evidently derived from the book of the prophet Ezekiel; with 
which Mahomet had been made acquainted by his Jewish instructors. 

The Koran makes mention of a wall built as a protection against 
these fearful people of the north by Dhu'lkarneim, or the Two Horned; 
by whom some suppose is meant Alexander the Great, others a Persian 
king of the first race, contemporary with Abraham. 

And they said, Dhu'lkarneim, verily, Gog and Magog waste the 

land He answered, I will set a strong wall between you and 

them. Bring me iron in large pieces, until it fill up the space between 
the two sides of these mountains. And he said to the workmen, 
Blow with your bellows until it make the iron red hot; and bring me 
molten brass, that I may pour upon it. Wherefore, when this wall 
was finished, Gog and Magog could not scale it, neither could they dig 
through it. — Sale's Koran, chap. 18. 

The Czar Peter the Great, in his expedition against the Persians, 
saw in the neighbourhood of the city of Derbend, which was then 
besieged, the ruins of a wall which went up hill and down dale, along 
the Caucasus, and was said to extend from the Euxine to the Caspian. 
It was fortified from place to place, by towers or castles. It was eighteen 
Russian stades in height; built of stones laid up dry; some of them 
three ells long and very wide. The colour of the stones, and the tra- 
ditions of the country, showed it to be of great antiquity. The Arabs 
and Persians said that it was built against the invasions of Gog and 
Magog.— See Travels in the East, by Sir William Ousley. 



OMAR. 



143 



the Derbends, or mountain barriers. One of the most import- 
ant, and which cost the greatest struggle, was a city or fortress 
called by the Persians Der-bend ; by the Turks Demir-Capi, or 
the Gate of Iron ; and by the Arabs Bab-el-abwab (the Gate of 
Gates). It guards a defile between a promontory of Mount 
Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. A superstitious belief is still 
connected with it by the Moslems. Originally it had three 
gates ; two only are left ; one of these has nearly sunk into the 
earth ; they say, when it disappears the day of judgment will 
arrive. 

Abda'lrahman Ibn Rabi'ah, one of the Moslem commanders 
who penetrated the denies of the Caucasus, was appointed by 
Omar to the command of the Derbends or passes, with orders 
to keep vigilant watch over them ; for the Caliph was in con- 
tinual solicitude about the safety of the Moslems on these re- 
mote expeditions, and was fearful that the Moslem troops 
might be swept away by some irruption from the north. 

Abda'lrahman, with the approbation of the Caliph, made a 
compact with Shahr- Zad, one of the native chiefs, by which the 
latter, in consideration of being excused from paying tribute, 
undertook to guard the Derbends against the northern hordes. 
The Arab general had many conversations with Shahr- Zad 
about the mountains, which are favoured regions of Persian 
romance and fable. His imagination was fired with what he 
was told about the people beyond the Derbends, the Allani 
and the Rus ; and about the great wall or barrier of Yajuj and 
Majiij, built to restrain their inroads. 

In one of the stories told by Shahr- Zad the reader will per- 
perceive the germ of one of the Arabian tales of Sindbad the 
Sailor. It is recorded to the following purport by Tabari the 
Persian historian : " One day as Abda'lrahman was seated by 
Shahr- Zad, conversing with him, he perceived upon his finger 
a ring decorated with a ruby, which burned like fire in the 
daytime, but at night was of dazzling brilliancy, ' It came,' 
said Shahr-Zad, 6 from the wall of Yajuj and Majuj ; from a 
king whose dominions between the mountains is traversed by 
the wall. I sent him many presents, and asked but one ruby 
in return.' Seeing the curiosity of Abda'lrahman aroused, he 
sent for the man who had brought the ring, and commanded 
him to relate the circumstances of his errand. 

" ' When I delivered the presents and the letter of Shahr- 
Zad to that king,' said the man, 'he called his chief falconer. 



144 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



and ordered him to procure the jewel required. The falconer 
kept an eagle for three days without food, until he was nearly 
starved ; he then took him up into the mountains near the 
wall, and I accompanied him. From the summit of one of 
these mountains we looked down into a deep dark chasm like 
an abyss. The falconer now produced a piece of tainted meat, 
threw it into the ravine, and let loose the eagle. He swept 
down after it ; pounced upon it as it reached the ground, and 
returning with it, perched upon the hand of the falconer. The 
ruby which now shines in that ring was found adhering to the 
meat.' 

" Abda'lrahman asked an account of the wall. 6 It is built,' 
replied the man, ' of stone, iron, and brass, and extends down 
one mountain and up another.' 6 This,' said the devout and 
all-believing Abda'lrahman, 6 must be the very wall of which 
the Almighty makes mention in the Koran.' 

" He now inquired of Shahr-Zad what was the value of the 
ruby. 'No one knows its value,' was the reply; 'though 
presents to an immense amount had been made in return for 
it.' Shahr-Zad now drew the ring from his finger, and offered 
it to Abda'lrahman, but the latter refused to accept it, saying 
that a gem of that value was not suitable to him. ' Had you 
been one of the Persian kings,' said Shahr-Zad, 6 you would 
have taken it from me by force; but men who conduct like 
you will conquer all the world.' " 

The stories which he had heard, had such an effect upon 
Abda'lrahman that he resolved to make a foray into the mys- 
terious country beyond the Derbends. Still it could only be of 
a partial nature, as he was restrained from venturing far by 
the cautious injunctions of Omar. " Were I not fearful of dis- 
pleasing the Caliph," said he, - "I would push forward even to 
Yajuj andMajuj, and make converts of all the infidels." 

On issuing from the mountains he found himself among a 
barbarous people, the ancestors of the present Turks, who in- 
habited a region of country between the Euxine and the Cas- 
pian seas. A soldier, who followed Abda'lrahman in this foray, 
gave the following account of these people to the Caliph on 
his return to Medina. " They were astonished," said he, " at 
our appearance, so different from their old enemies the Per- 
sians, and asked us, ' Are you angels, or the sons of Adam?' to 
which we replied, we are sons of Adam, but the angels of 
heaven are on our side and aid us in our warfare." 



031 AE. 



145 



The infidels forbore to assail men thus protected; one, 
however, more shrewd or dubious than the rest, stationed him- 
self behind a tree, sped an arrow, and slew a Moslem. The 
delusion was at an end; the Turks saw that the strangers 
were mortal, and from that time there was hard fighting. Ab- 
da'lrahman laid siege to a place called Belandscher, the city 
or stronghold of the Bulgarians or Huns, another semi-barbarous 
and warlike people like the Turks, who, like their, had not yet 
made themselves world-famous by their conquering migrations. 
The Turks came to the aid of their neighbours; a severe battle 
took place, the Moslems were defeated, and Abda'lrahman paid 
for his daring enterprise and romantic curiosity with his life. 
The Turks, who still appear to have retained a superstitious 
opinion of their unknown invaders, preserved the body of the 
unfortunate general as a relic, and erected a shrine in honour of 
it, at which they used to put up their prayers for ram in time of 
drought. 

The troops of Abda'lrahman retreated within the Derbends ; 
his brother, Selrnan Ibn Rabiah was appointed to succeed him 
in the command of the Caucasian passes, and thus ended the 
unfortunate forav into the land of Gog" and Magog". 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

The life and reign of the Caliph Omar, distinguished by such 
great and striking events, were at length brought to a sudden 
and sanguinary end. Among the Persians who had been 
brought as slaves to Medina, was one named Firuz, of the sect 
of the Magi, or fire-worshippers. Being taxed daily by his 
master two pieces of silver out of his earnings, he complained 
of it to Omar as an extortion. The Caliph inquired into his 
condition, and, finding that he was a carpenter, and expert in 
the construction of windmills, replied, that the man who excelled 
in such a handicraft could well afford to pay two dirhems a day. 
" Then," muttered Firuz, " I'll construct a windmill for you 
that shall keep grinding until the day of judgment." Omar 
was struck with his menacing air. <; The slave threatens me," 
said he, calmly. u If I were disposed to punish any one on 
suspicion, I should take off his head." He suffered him, how- 
ever, to depart without further notice. 

Three days afterwards, as he was praying in the mosque, 
Firuz entered suddenlv, and stabbed him thrice with a daowr. 
The attendants rushed upon the assassin. He made furious 

L 



146 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



resistance, slew some, and wounded others, until one of his 
assailants threw his vest over him, and seized him, upon which 
he stabbed himself to the heart, and expired. Religion may 
have had some share in prompting this act of violence — perhaps 
revenge for the ruin brought upon his native country. " God 
be thanked," said Omar, " that he by whose hand it was de- 
creed I should fall was not a Moslem !" 

The Caliph gathered strength sufficient to finish the prayer 
in which he had been interrupted ; "for he who deserts his 
prayers," said he, "is not in Islam." Being taken to his 
house, he languished three days, without hope of recovery, but 
could not be prevailed upon to nominate a successor, " I can- 
not presume to do that," said he, " which the prophet himself 
did not do." Some suggested that he should nominate his son 
Abdallah. " Omars family," said he, " has had enough in 
Omar, and needs no more." He appointed a council of six 
persons to determine as to the succession after his decease, all 
of whom he considered worthy of the Caliphat, though he gave 
it as his opinion that the choice would be either Ali or Othman. 
" Shouldst thou become Caliph," said he to Ali, " do not 
favour thy relatives above all others, nor place the house of 
Haschem on the neck of all mankind ;" and he gave the same 
caution to Othman in respect to the family of Omeya. 

Calling for ink and paper, he wrote a letter, as his last tes- 
tament, to whosoever might be his successor, full of excellent 
counsel for the upright management of aifairs, and the promo- 
tion of the faith. He charged his son Abdallah, in the most 
earnest manner, as one of the highest duties of Islamism, to 
repay eighteen thousand dirhems which he had borrowed out of 
the public treasury. All present protested against this as 
unreasonable, since the money had been expended in relief of 
the poor and destitute ; but Omar insisted upon it as his last 
will. He then sent to Ayesha 5 and procured permission of her 
to be buried next to her father. Abu Beker. 

Ibn Abbas and Ali now spoke to him in words of comfort, 
setting forth the blessings of Islam, which had crowned his 
administration, and that he would leave no one behind him who 
could charge him with injustice. " Testify this for me," said 
he, earnestly, "at the day of judgment." They gave him 
their hands in promise ; but he exacted that they should give 
him a written testimonial, and that it should be buried with 
him in the grave. 



OMAR. 



147 



Having settled all his worldly affairs, and given directions 
about his sepulture, he expired, the seventh day after his assas- 
sination, in the sixty-third year of his age, after a triumphant 
reign of ten years and six months. 

His death was rashly and bloodily revenged. Mahomet Ibn 
Abu Beker, the brother of Ayesha, and imbued with her 
mischief-making propensity, persuaded Abdallah, the son of 
Omar, that his father's murder was the result of a conspiracy; 
Firuz having been instigated to the act by his daughter Lulu, 
a Christian named Dschofeine, and Hormuzan, the once haughty 
and magnificent Satrap of susiana. In the transport of his 
rage, and instigated by the old Arab principle of blood revenge, 
Abdallah slew all three of the accused; without reflecting on the 
improbability of Hormuzan, at least, being accessory to the 
murder; being, since his conversion, in close friendship with the 
late Caliph; and his adviser, on many occasions, in the prosecu- 
tion of the Persian war. 

The whole history of Omar shows him to have been a man of 
great powers of mind, inflexible integrity, and rigid justice. He 
was, more than any one else, the founder of the Islam empire; 
confirming and carrying out the inspirations of the prophet ; 
aiding Abu Beker w r ith his counsels during his brief Caliphat ; 
and establishing wise regulations for the strict administration of 
the laws throughout the rapidly-extending bounds of the Moslem 
conquests. The rigid hand which he kept upon his most 
popular generals in the midst of their armies, and in the most 
distant scenes of their triumphs, give signal evidence of his ex- 
traordinary capacity to rule. In the simplicity of his habits, 
and his contempt for all pomp and luxury, he emulated the ex- 
ample of the prophet and Abu Beker. He endeavoured inces- 
santly to impress the merit and policy of the same in his letters 
to his generals. u Beware," he would say, " of Persian luxury 
both in food and raiment. Keep to the simple habits of your 
country, and Allah will continue you victorious; depart from 
them, and he will reverse your fortunes." It was his strong con- 
viction of the truth of this policy, which made him so severe in 
punishing all ostentatious style and luxurious indulgence in his 
officers. 

Some of his ordinances do credit to his heart as well as his 
head. He forbade that any female captive who had borne a 
child should be sold as a slave. In his weekly distributions of 
the surplus money of his treasury, he proportioned them to the 

l 2 



148 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



wants, not the merits of the applicants. i; God," said he, "has 
bestowed the o-ood things of this world to relieve our necessities, 
not to reward our virtues : those will be rewarded in another 
world." 

One of the early measures of his reign was the assigning 
pensions to the most faithful companions of the prophet, and 
those who had signalised themselves in the early service of the 
faith. Abbas, the uncle of the prophet, had a yearly pension of 
200,00*0 dirhems ; others of his relatives in graduated propor- 
tions ; those veterans who had fought in the battle of Beder 
5000 dirhems; pensions of less amount to those who had distin- 
g*uished themselves in Syria, Persia, and Egypt. Each of the 
prophet's wives was allowed ten thousand dirhems yearly, and 
Ayesha twelve thousand. Hasan and Hosein, the sons of Ali 
and grandsons of the prophet, had each a pension of five thousand 
dirheins. On any one who found fault with these disbursements 
out of the public wealth, Omar invoked the curse of Allah. 

He was the first to establish a chamber of accounts or ex- 
chequer; the first to date events from the Hegira or flight of 
the prophet; and the first to introduce a coinage into the Moslem 
dominions; stamping the coins with the name of the reigning 
Caliph, and the words, u There is no God but God." 

During his reign, we are told, there were thirty-six thousand 
towns, castles, and strongholds taken; but he was not a waste- 
ful conqueror. He founded new cities; established important 
marts; built innumerable mosques, and linked the newly acquired 
provinces into one vast empire by his iron inflexibility of purpose. 
As has well been observed, wi his Caiiphat, crowned with the 
glories of its triple conquest of Syria, Persia, and Egypt, deserves 
to be distinguished as the heroic age of Saracen history. The 
gigantic foundations of the Saracenic power were perfected in 
the short space of less than ten years." Let it be remembered, 
moreover, that this great conqueror, this great legislator, this 
magnanimous sovereign, was originally a rude half-instructed 
Arab of Mecca. Well may we say in regard to the early 
champions of Islam, * there were giants in those days.*' 

After the death of Omar, the six persons met together whom 
he had named as a council to elect his successor. They were 
Ali, Othman, Telha, Ibn Obeid'allah (Mahomet's son-in-law), 
Zobeir, Abda'lrahman Ibn Awf, and Saad Ibn Abu Wakkas. 
They had all been personally intimate with Mahomet, and were 
therefore styled the companions. 



OTHMAN. 



149 



After much discussion and repeated meetings the Caliphat 
was offered to Ali, on condition that lie wculd promise to govern 
according to the Koran and the traditions of Mahomet, and the 
regulations established by the two seniors or elders; meaning the 
two preceding Caliphs Abu Eeker and Omar. 

AH replied, that he would govern according to the Koran and 
the authentic traditions ; but would, in all other respects, act 
according to his own judgment, without reference to the ex- 
ample of the seniors. This reply not being satisfactory to the 
council, they made the same proposal to Othman Ibn Allan, who 
assented to all the conditions, and was immediately elected, and 
installed three days after the death of his predecessor. He was 
seventy years of age at the time of his election. He was tall 
and swarthy, and his long grey beard was tinged with henna. 
He was strict in his religious duties ; fasting, meditating, and 
studying the Koran; not so simple in his habits as his prede- 
cessors, but prone to expense and lavish of his riches. His 
bountiful spirit, however, was evinced at times in a way that 
gained him much popularity. In a time of famine he had 
supplied the poor of Medina with corn. He had purchased at 
great cost the ground about the mosque of Medina, to give room 
for houses for the prophet's wives. He had contributed six 
hundred and fifty camels and fifty horses for the campaign against 
Tabuc. 

He derived much respect among zealous Moslems for having 
married two of the prophet's daughters, and for having been in 
both of the Hegiras, or flights ; the first into Abyssinia, the 
second, the memorable flight to Medina. Mahomet used to 
say of him, " Each thing has its mate, and each man his asso- 
ciate : my associate in paradise is Othman." 

Scarcely was the new Caliph installed in office, when the 
retaliatory punishment prescribed by the law was invoked upon 
Obeid'allah, the son of Omar, for the deaths so rashly inflicted 
on those whom he had suspected of instigating his father's 
assassination. Othman was perplexed between the letter of the 
law and the odium of following the murder of the father by the 
execution of the son. He was kindly relieved from his per- 
plexity by the suggestion, that as the act of Obeid'allah took 
place in the interregnum between the Caliphat s of Omar and 
Othman, it did not come under the cognizance of either. 
Othman gladly availed himself of the quibble ; Obeid'allah 
escaped rmpunished, and the sacrifice of the once magnificent 
Hormuzan and his fellow -victims remained unavenged. 



150 THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

The proud empire of the Khosras had received its death-blow 
during the vigorous Caliphat of Omar ; what signs of life it yet 
gave were but its dying struggles. The Moslems, led by able 
generals, pursued their conquests in different directions. Some, 
turning to the west, urged their triumphant way through ancient 
Assyria; crossed the Tigris by the bridge of Mosul, passing 
the ruins of mighty Nineveh as unheedingly as they had passed 
those of Babylon; completed the subjugation of Mesopotamia, 
and planted their standards beside those of their brethren who 
had achieved the conquest of Syria. 

Others directed their course into the southern and eastern 
provinces, following the retreating steps of Yezdegird. A fiat 
issued by the late Caliph Omar had sealed the doom of that 
unhappy monarch. "Pursue the fugitive king wherever he 
may go, until you have driven him from the face of the earth !" 

Yezdegird, after abandoning Rei, had led a wandering life, 
shifting from city to city and province to province, still flying 
at the approach of danger. At one time we hear of him in 
the splendid city of Ispahan ; next among the mountains of 
Farsistan, the original Persis, the cradle of the conquerors of 
Asia ; and it is another of the lessons furnished by history, to 
see the last of the Khosrus a fugitive among those mountains 
whence, in foregone times, Cyrus had led Ins hardy but frugal 
and rugged bands to win, by force of arms, that vast empire 
winch was now falling to ruin through its effeminate degeneracy. 

For a time the unhappy monarch halted in Istakar, the pride 
of Persia, where the tottering remains of Persepolis, and its 
hall of a thousand columns, speak of the ancient glories of the 
Persian kings. Here Yezdegird had been fostered and concealed 
during his youthful days, and here he came near being taken 
among the relics of Persian magnificence. 

From Farsistan he was driven to Kerman, the ancient Car- 
mania ; thence into Korassan ; in the northern part of which 
vast province he took breath at the city of Men 7 , or Merou, on 
the remote boundary of Bactriana. In all his wanderings he 
was encumbered by the shattered pageant of an Oriental court, 
a worthless throng which had fled with him from Madayn, and 
which he had no means of supporting. At Merv he had four 
thousand persons in his train ; all minions of the palace, useless 
hangers-on, porters, grooms, and slaves ; together with his 
wives and concubines, and their female attendants. 



OTHMAK. 



151 



In this remote halting-place he devoted himself to building 
a fire- temple ; in the mean time he wrote letters to such of the 
cities and provinces as were yet unconquered, exhorting his 
governors and generals to defend, piece by piece, the fragments 
of empire which he had deserted. 

The city of Ispahan, one of the brightest jewels of his 
crown, was well garrisoned by wrecks of the army of Neha- 
vend, and might have made brave resistance ; but its governor, 
Kadeskan, staked the fortunes of the place upon a single combat 
with the Moslem commander who had invested it, and capitu- 
lated at the first shock of lances ; probably through some 
traitorous arrangement. 

Ispahan has never recovered from that blow. Modern tra- 
vellers speak of its deserted streets, its abandoned palaces, its 
silent bazaars. " I have ridden for miles among its ruins," says 
one, " without meeting' any living creature, excepting, perhaps, 
a jackal peeping over a wall, or a fox running into his hole. 
Now and then an inhabited house was to be seen, the owner of 
which might be assimilated to Job's forlorn man dwelling in 
desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which 
are ready to become heaps." 

Istakar made a nobler defence. The national pride of the 
Persians was too much connected with this city, once their 
boast, to let it fall without a struggle. There was another 
gathering of troops from various parts ; one hundred and 
twenty thousand are said to have united under the standard of 
Shah-reg, the patriotic governor. It was all in vain. The 
Persians were again defeated in a bloody battle ; Shah-reg was 
slain, and Istakar, the ancient Persepolis, once almost the 
mistress of the Eastern world, was compelled to pay tribute to 
the Arabian Caliph. 

The course of Moslem conquest now turned into the vast 
province of Khorassan ; subdued one part of it after another, 
and approached the remote region where Yezdegird had taken 
refuge. Driven to the boundaries of his dominions, the fugitive 
monarch crossed the Oxus (the ancient Gihon) and the sandy 
deserts beyond, and threw himself among the shepherd hordes 
of Scythia. His wanderings are said to have extended to the 
borders of Tshin or China, from the emperor of which he 
sought assistance. 

Obscurity hangs over this part of his story : it is affirmed 
that he succeeded in obtaining aid from the great Khan of the 



152 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET, 



Tartars, and, recrossing the Gihon, was joined by the troops 
of Balkh or Bactria, which province was still unsubdued and 
loyal With these he endeavoured to make a stand against his 
unrelenting pursuers. A slight reverse, or some secret treachery, 
put an end to the adhesion of his barbarian ally. The Tartar 
chief returned with his troops to Turkestan. 

Yezdegird's own nobles, tired of following his desperate for- 
tunes, now conspired to betray him and his treasures into the 
hands of the Moslems, as a price for their own safety. He 
was at that time at Merv, or Merou, on the Oxus, called Merou 
al Roud, or 4 6 Merou of the River," to distmguish it from Merou 
in Khorassan. Discovering the intended treachery of his nobles, 
and of the governor of the plaee, he caused his slaves to let 
him down with cords from a window of his palace, and fled, 
alone and on foot, under cover of the night. At the break of 
day he found himself near a mill, on the banks of the river, 
only eight miles from the city, and offered the miller his ring 
and bracelets, enriched with gems, if he would ferry him across 
the stream. The boor, who knew nothing of jewels, demanded 
four silver oboli, or drachms, the amount of a day's earnings, 
as a compensation for leaving his work. While they were 
debatmg, a party of horsemen, who were in pursuit of the 
king, came up and clove him with their scimetars. Another 
account states that, exhausted and fatigued with the weight of 
his embroidered garments, he sought rest and concealment in 
the mill, and that the miller spread a mat, on which he laid 
down and slept. His rich attire, however, his belt of gold 
stuilded with jewels, his rings and bracelets, excited the avarice 
of the miller, who slew him with an axe while he slept, and, 
having stripped the body, threw it into the w r ater. In the 
morning several horsemen, in search of him, arrived at the 
mill, where discovering, by his clothes and jewels, that he had 
been murdered, they put the miller to death. 

This miserable catastrophe to a miserable career is said to 
have occurred on the 23rd of August, in the year 651 of the 
Christian era. Yezdegird was in the thirty -fourth year of his 
age ; having reigned nine years previous to the battle of Ne- 
havend, and since that event having been ten years a fugitive. 
History lays no crimes to his charge, yet his hard fortunes 
and untimely end have failed to awaken the usual interest and 
sympathy. He had been schooled in adversity from his early 
youth, yet he failed to profit by it. Carrying about with him 



OTHMAN. 



153 



the wretched relics of an effeminate court, he sought only his 
personal safety, and wanted the courage and magnanimity to 
throw himself at the head of his armies, and battle for his 
crown and country like a great sovereign and a patriot prince. 

Empires, however, like all other things, have their allotted 
time, and die, if not by violence, at length of imbecility and old 
age. That of Persia had long since lost its stamina, and the 
energy of a Cyrus would have been unable to infuse new life 
into its gigantic but palsied limbs. At the death of Yezdegird 
it fell under the undisputed sway of the Caliphs, and became 
little better than a subject province.* 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

66 In the conquests of Syria, Persia, and Egypt," says a 
modern writer, "the fresh and vigorous enthusiasm of the 
personal companions and proselytes of Mahomet was exercised 
and expended, and the generation of warriors whose simple 
fanaticism had been inflamed by the preaching of the pseudo 
prophet, wa,s in a great measm-e consumed in the sanguinary and 
perpetual toils of ten arduous campaigns." 

We shall now see the effect of those conquests on the national 
character and habits ; the avidity of place and power and wealth, 
superseding religious enthusiasm ; and the enervating luxury 
and soft voluptuousness of Syria and Persia sapping the rude 
but masculine simplicity of the Arabian desert. Above all, the 
single -mindedness of M ahomet and his two immediate successors 
is at an end. Other objects beside the mere advancement of 
Islamism distract the attention of its leading professors ; and the 
struggle for worldly wealth and worldly sway, for the advance- 
ment of private ends, and the aggrandisement of particular 
tribes and families, destroy the unity of the empire, and beset 
the Caliphat with intrigue, treason, and bloodshed. 

It was a great matter of reproach against the Caliph Othman 
that he was injudicious in his appointments, and had an inve- 

* According to popular traditions in Persia, Yezdegird. in the course 
of ins wanderings, took refuge for a time in the castle of Fahender, 
near Schiraz, and buried the crown jewels and treasures of Xushirwan 
in a deep pit, or well, under the castle, where they still remain guarded 
by a talisman, so that they cannot be found or drawn forth. Others say 
that he had them removed and deposited in trust with the Khacan, or 
emperor of Chin or Tartary. After the extinction of the royal Persian 
dynasty, those treasures and the crown remained in Chin. — Sir William 
Ouseley's Travels in the East vol. ii., p. 34. 



154 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



terate propensity to consult the interests of his relatives and 
friends before that of the public. One of his greatest errors in 
this respect was the removal of Amm Ibn Al Aass from the 
government of Egypt, and the appointment of his own foster- 
brother Abdallah Ibn Saad in his place. This was the same 
Abdallah who, in acting as amanuensis to Mahomet, and writing- 
down his revelations, had interpolated passages of his own, 
sometimes of a ludicrous nature. For this, and for his apostasy, 
he had been pardoned by Mahomet at the solicitation of Oth- 
man, and had ever since acted with apparent zeal ; his interest 
coinciding with his duty. 

He was of a courageous spirit, and one of the most expert 
horsemen of Arabia ; but what might have fitted him to com- 
mand a horde of the desert, was insufficient for the government 
of a conquered province. He was new and inexperienced in his 
present situation ; whereas Amm had distingrdshed himself as a 
legislator as well as a conqueror, and had already won the affec- 
tions of the Egyptians by his attention to their interests, and his 
respect for their customs and habitudes. His dismission was, 
therefore, resented by the people, and a disposition was mani- 
fested to revolt against the new governor. 

The Emperor Constantino, who had succeeded to his father 
Heraclius, hastened to take advantage of these circumstances. 
A neet and army were sent against Alexandria under a prefect 
named Manuel. The Greeks in the city secretly co-operated 
with him, and the metropolis was, partly by force of arms, 
partly by treachery, recaptured by the imperialists without much 
bloodshed. 

Othman, made painfully sensible of the error he had com- 
mitted, hastened to revoke the appointment of his foster-brother, 
and reinstated Amru in the command in Egypt. That able 
general went instantly against Alexandria with an army, in 
which were many Copts, irreconcilable enemies of the Greeks. 
Among these was the traitor Makawkas, who, from his know- 
ledge of the country, and his influence among its inhabitants, 
was able to procure abundant supplies for the army. 

The Greek garrison defended the city bravely and obstinately. 
Amru, enraged at having thus again to lay siege to a place 
which he had twice already taken, swore, by Allah, that if he 
should master it a third time, he would render it as easy of 
access as a brothel. He kept his word, for when he took the 
city he threw down the walls and demolished all the fortifica- 



OTHMAN. 



155 



tions. He was merciful, however, to the inhabitants, and 
checked the fury of the Saracens, who were slaughtering* all 
they met. A mosque was afterwards erected on the spot at 
which he stayed the carnage, called the Mosque of Mercy. 
Manuel, the Greek general, found it expedient to embark with 
all speed with such of his troops as he could save and make sail 
for Constantinople, 

Scarce, however, had Amru quelled every insurrection, and 
secured the Moslem domination in Egypt, when he was again 
displaced from the government, and Abdallah Ibn Saad ap- 
pointed a second time in his stead. 

Abdallah had been deeply mortified by the loss of Alexandria, 
which had been ascribed to his incapacity. He was emulous, 
too, of the renown of Amru, and felt the necessity of vindicating 
his claims to command by some brilliant achievement. The 
north of Africa presented a new field for Moslem enterprise. 
We allude to that vast tract extending west from the desert of 
Libya or Barca, to Cape Non, embracing more than two thou- 
sand miles of sea-coast, comprehending the ancient divisions of 
Mamarica, Cyrenaica, Carthage, Numidia, and Mauritania ; or, 
according to modem geographical designations, Barca, Tripoli, 
Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco. 

A few words respecting the historical vicissitudes of this once 
powerful region may not be inappropriate. The original inha- 
bitants are supposed to have come at a remote time from Asia 
— or, rather, it is said that an influx of Arabs drove the original 
inhabitants from the sea-coast to the mountains and the borders 
of the interior desert, and continued their nomade and pastoral 
life along the shores of the Mediterranean. About nine hun- 
dred years before the Christian era, the Phoenicians of Tyre 
founded colonies along the coast ; of these, Carthage was the 
greatest. By degrees it extended its influence along the African 
shores, and the opposite coast of Spain, and rose in prosperity 
and power until it became a rival republic to Rome. On the 
w r ars between Rome and Carthage it is needless to dilate. 
They ended in the downfall of the Carthaginian republic, and 
the domination of Rome over Northern Africa. 

This domination continued for about four centuries, until 
the Roman prefect Bonifacius invited over the Vandals from 
Spain, to assist him in a feud with a political rival. The invi- 
tation proved fatal to Roman ascendancy. The Vandals, aided 
by the Moors and Berbers, and by numerous Christian secta- 



156 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



rians recently expelled from the Catholic Church, aspired to 
gain possession of the country, and succeeded. Genseric, the 
Vandal general, captured and pillaged Carthage, and, having 
subjugated Northern Africa, built a navy, invaded Italv, and 
sacked Rome. The domination of the Vandals by sea and 
land lasted above half a century. In 533 and 534, Africa was 
regained by Belisarius for the Roman empire, and the Vandals 
were driven out of the land. After the departure of Belisarius, 
the Moors rebelled, and made repeated attempts to get the do- 
minion, but were as often defeated with great loss, and the Ro- 
man sway was once more established. 

All these wars and changes had a disastrous effect on the 
African provinces. The Vandals had long disappeared, many 
of the Moorish families had been extirpated, the wealthy inha- 
bitants had fled to Sicily and Constantinople, and a stranger 
might wander whole days over regions once covered with towns 
and cities, and teeming with population, without meeting a 
human being". 

o 

For near a century the country remained sunk in apathy and 
inaction, until now it was to be roused from its torpor by the 
all-pervading armies of Islam. 

Soon after the reappointment of Abdallah to the government 
of Egypt, he set out upon the conquest of this country, at the 
head of forty thousand Arabs. After crossing the western 
boundary of Egypt, he had to traverse the desert of Libya; but 
his army was provided with camels accustomed to the sandy 
wastes of Arabia, and, after a toilsome march, he encamped 
before the walls of Tripoli, then, as now, one of the most 
wealthy and powerful cities of the Barbary coast. The place 
was well fortified, and made good resistance. A body of Greek 
troops, which were sent to reinforce it, were surprised by the 
besiegers on the sea-coast, and dispersed with great slaughter. 

The Roman prefect Gregorius having assembled an army of 
one hundred and twenty thousand men, a great proportion of 
whom were the hastily-levied and undisciplined tribes of Bar- 
bary, advanced to defend his province. He was accompanied 
by an Amazonian daughter of wonderful beauty, who had 
been taught to manage the horse, to draw the bow and wield 
the scimetar, and who was always at her father s side in battle, 

Hearing of the approach of this army, Abdallah suspended 
the siege, and advanced to meet it. A brief parley took place 
between the hostile commanders. Abdallah proposed the usual 



157 



alternatives — profession of Isiamisni, or payment of tribute. 
Both were indignantly rejected. The armies engaged before 
the walls of Tripoli. Abdallah, whose fame was staked on this 
enterprise, stimulated his troops by word and example, and 
charged the enemy repeatedly, at the head of his squadrons. 
Wherever he pressed, the fortune of the day would incline in 
favour of the Moslems ; but, on the other hand, Gregorius 
fought with desperate bravery, as the fate of the province 
depended on this conflict ; and wherever he appeared his 
daughter was at his side, dazzling all eyes by the splendour of 
her armour and the heroism of her achievements. The contest 
was long, arduous, and uncertain. It w r as not one drawn 
battle, but a succession of conflicts, extending through several 
days, beginning at early dawn, but ceasing toward noon, when 
the intolerable heat of the sun obliged both armies to desist, 
and seek the shade of their tents. 

The prefect Gregorius was exasperated at being in a manner 
held at bay by an inferior force, which he had expected to 
crush by the superiority of numbers. Seeing that Abdallah 
was the life and soul of his army, he proclaimed a reward of 
one hundred thousand pieces of gold, and the hand of his 
daughter to the warrior who should bring him his head. 

The excitement caused among the Grecian youth by this 
tempting prize made the officers of Abdallah tremble for his 
safety. They represented to him the importance of his life to 
the army and the general cause, and prevailed upon him to 
keep aloof from the field of battle. His absence, however, pro- 
duced an immediate change, and the valour of his troops, hi- 
therto stimulated by his presence, began to languish. 

Zobeir, a noble Arab, of the tribe of Koreish, arrived at the 
field of battle with a small reinforcement, in the heat of one of 
the engagements. He found the troops righting to a disad- 
vantage, and looked round in vain for the general. Being told 
that he was in his tent, he hastened thither, and reproached 
him with his inactivity. Abdallah blushed, but explained the 
reason of his remaining- passive. " Retort on the infidel com- 
mander his perfidious bribe,'' cried Zobeir; "proclaim that his 
daughter as a captive, and one hundred thousand pieces of gold, 
shall be the reward of the Moslem who brings his head.'' The 
advice w r as adopted, as well as the following stratagem sug- 
gested by Zobeir. On the next morning, Abdallah sent forth 
only sufficient force to keep up a defensive fight ; but when 



158 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



the sun had reached its noontide height, and the panting troops 
retired as usual to their tents, Abdallah and Zobeir sallied forth 
at the head of the reserve, and charged furiously among the 
fainting Greeks. Zobeir singled out the prefect, and slew him, 
after a well-contested fight. His daughter pressed forward to 
avenge his death, but was surrounded and made prisoner. The 
Grecian army was completely routed, and fled to the opulent 
town of Safetula, which was taken and sacked by the Moslems. 

The battle was over, Gregorius had fallen, but no one came 
forward to claim the reward set upon his head. His captive 
daughter, however, on beholding Zobeir, broke forth into tears 
and exclamations, and thus revealed the modest victor. Zobeir 
refused to accept the maiden or the gold. He fought, he said, 
for the faith, not for earthly objects, and looked for his reward 
in paradise. In honour of his achievements, he was sent with 
tidings of this victory to the Caliph ; but when he announced 
it, in the great mosque at Medina, in presence of the assembled 
people, he made no mention of his own services. His modesty 
enhanced his merits in the eyes of the public, and his name was 
placed by the Moslems beside those of Khaled and Amru. 

Abdallah found his forces too much reduced and enfeebled 
by battle and disease to enable him to maintain possession of 
the country he had subdued ; and, after a campaign of fifteen 
months, he led back his victorious but diminished army into 
Egypt, encumbered with captives and laden with booty. 

He afterwards, by the Caliph's command, assembled an 
army in the Thebaid or Upper Egypt, and thence made nu- 
merous successful excursions into Nubia, the Christian king of 
which was reduced to make a humiliating treaty, by which he 
bound himself to send annually to the Moslem commander in 
Egypt a great number of Xubian or Eithiopian slaves by way 
of tribute. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 
Among the distinguished Moslems who held command of 
the distant provinces during the Caliphat of Othman, was Moa- 
wyah Ibn Abu Sofian. As his name denotes, he was the son of 
Abu Sofian, the early foe and subsequent proselyte of Mahomet. 
On his father's death he had become chief of the tribe of Ko- 
reish, and head of the family of Omeya or Ommiah. The 
late Caliph Omar, about four years before his death, had ap- 
pointed him emir or governor of Syria, and he was continued 
in that office by Othman. He was between thirty and forty 



OTHMAN. 



159 



years of age, enterprising, courageous, of quick sagacity, ex- 
tended views, and lofty aims. Having the maritime coast and 
ancient ports of Syria under his command, he aspired to extend 
the triumphs of the Moslem arms by sea as well as land. He 
had repeatedly endeavoured, but in vain, to obtain permission 
from Omar to make a naval expedition, that Caliph being 
always apprehensive of the too wide and rapid extension of the 
enterprises of his generals. Under Othman he was more 
successful, and in the twenty- seventh year of the Hegira was 
permitted to fit out a fleet, with which he launched forth on the 
Sea of Tarshish, or the Phoenician Sea, by both which names 
the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea was designated in 
ancient times. 

His first enterprise was against the island of Cyprus, which 
was still held in allegiance to the emperor of Constantinople. 
The Christian garrison was weak, and the inhabitants of the 
island soon submitted to pay tribute to the Caliph. 

His next enterprise was against the island of Aradus, where 
he landed his troops and besieged the city or fortress; battering 
it with military engines. The inhabitants made vigorous re- 
sistance, repelled him from the island, and it was only after he 
had come a second time, with superior force, that he was able 
to subdue it. He then expelled the natives, demolished the 
fortifications, and set fire to the city. 

His most brilliant achievement, however, was a battle with a 
large fleet, in which the emperor was cruising in the Phoeni- 
cian Sea. It was called in Arab history the Battle of Masts, 
from the forest of masts in the imperial fleet. The Christians 
went into action singing psalms and elevating the cross ; the 
Moslems repeating texts of the Koran, shouting " Allah Ach- 
bar !" and waving the standard of Islam. The battle was 
severe ; the imperial fleet dispersed, and the emperor escaped 
by dint of sails and oars. 

Moawyah now swept the seas victoriously, made landings 
on Crete and Malta, captured the island of Rhodes, demolished 
its famous colossal statue of brass, and, having broken it to pieces, 
transported the fragments to Alexandria, where they were sold 
to a Jewish merchant of Edissa, and were sufficient to load 
nine hundred camels. He had another fight with a Christian 
fleet in the Bay of Feneke, by Castel Rosso, in which both 
parties claimed the victory. He even carried his expeditions 
along the coasts of Asia Minor, and to the very port of Con- 
stantinople. 



160 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



These naval achievements, a new feature in Arab warfare, 
rendered Moawvah exceedingly popular in Syria, and laid the 
foundation for that power and importance which he subsequently 
attained. 

It is worthy of remark how the triumphs of an ignorant 
people, who had heretofore dwelt obscurely in the midst of 
their deserts, were overrunning all the historical and poetical 
regions of antiquity. They had invaded and subdued the once 
mighty empires on land, they had now launched forth from 
the old Scriptural ports of Tyre and Sidon, swept the Sea of 
Tarshish, and were capturing the isles rendered famous by 
classic fable. 

In the midst of these foreign successes, an incident, con- 
sidered full of sinister import, happened to Othman. He acci- 
dently dropped in a brook a silver ring, on which was inscribed, 
"Mahomet, the apostle of God." It had originally belonged 
to Mahomet, and since his death had been worn by Abu Beker, 
Omar and Othman, as the symbol of command, as rings had 
been considered throughout the East from the earliest times. 
The brook was searched with the most anxious care, but the 
ring was not to be found. This was an ominous loss in the 
eyes of the superstitious Moslems. 

It happened about this time that scandalised by the various 
versions of the Koran, and the disputes that prevailed concern- 
ing their varying texts, he decreed, in a council of the chief 
Moslems, that all copies of the Koran which did not agree with 
the genuine one in the hands of Hafza, the widow of Mahomet, 
should be burnt. Seven copies of Hafza's Koran were accord- 
ingly made ; six were sent to Mecca, Yemen, Syria, Bahrein, 
Bassora, and Cufa, and one was retained in Medina. All 
copies varying from these were to be given to the flames. 
This measure caused Othman to be called the Gatherer of the 
Koran. It, at any rate, prevented any further vitiation of 
the sacred Scripture of Islam, which has remained unchanged 
from that time to the present. Besides this pious act, Othman 
caused a wall to be built round the sacred house of the Caaba, 
and enlarged and beautified the mosque of the prophet in 
Medina. 

Notwithstanding all this, disaffection and intrigue were 
springing up round the venerable Caliph in Medina. He was 
brave, open-handed, and munificent, but he wanted shrewdness 
and discretion; was prone to favouritism; very credulous and 
easily deceived. 



OTHMAN. 



161 



Murmurs rop.e against hi n on all sides, and daily increased in 
virulence. His conduct, both public and private, was reviewed, 
and circumstances, which had been passed by as trivial, were 
magnified into serious offences. He was charged with impious 
presumption in having taken his stand, on being first made 
Caliph, on the uppermost step of the pulpit, where Mahomet 
himself used to stand, whereas Abu Beker had stood one step 
lower, and Omar two. A graver accusation, and one too well 
merited, was that he had displaced men of worth, eminent for their 
services, and given their places to his own relatives and favourites. 
This was especially instanced in dismissing Amru Ibn al Aass 
from the government of Egypt, and appointing in his stead his 
own brother, Abdallah Ibn Saad, who had once been proscribed 
by Mahomet. Another accusation was that he had lavished the 
public money upon parasites, giving one hundred thousand 
dinars to one, four hundred thousand to another, and no less 
than five hundred and four thousand upon his secretary of state, 
Merwan Ibn Hakem, who had, it was said, an undue ascend- 
ancy over him, and was, in fact, the subtle and active spirit of 
his government. The last sum, it was alleged, was taken out 
of a portion of the spoils of Africa, which had been set apart 
for the family of the prophet. 

The ire of the old Caliph was kindled at having his lavish 
liberality thus charged upon him as a crime. He mounted the 
pulpit, and declared that the money in the treasury belonged 
to God, the distribution to the Caliph at his own discretion, as 
successor of the prophet; and he prayed God to confound who- 
ever should gainsay what he had set forth. 

Upon this, Am mar Ibn Yaser, one of the primitive Moslems, 
of whom Mahomet himself had said that he was filled with 
faith from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, rose and 
disputed the words of Othman, whereupon some of the Caliph's 
kindred of the house of Ommiah fell upon the venerable Am- 
mar, and beat him until he fainted. 

The outrage offered to the person of one of the earliest dis- 
ciples and especial favourites of the prophet was promulgated 
far and wide, and contributed to the general discontent which 
now assumed the aspect of rebellion. The ringleader of the 
disaffected was Ibn Caba, formerly a Jew. This son of mis- 
chief made a factious tour from Yemen to Hidschaf. thence to 
Bassora, to Cufa, to Syria, and Egypt, decrying the Caliph and 
the emirs he had appointed ; declaring that the Caliphat had 

M 



162 



THE SUCCESSORS OF IVLA.HOMET. 



been usurped by Othman from AK, to whom it rightly be- 
longed, as the nearest relative of the prophet, and suggesting 
by word of mouth and secret correspondence that the malcon- 
tents should assemble simultaneously in various parts, under 
pretext of a pilgrimage to Mecca. 

The plot of the renegade Jew succeeded. In the fulness 
of time deputations arrived from all parts. One amounting to 
a hundred and fifty persons from Bassora; another of two 
hundred under Malec Alashtar from Cufa; a third of six hun- 
dred from Egypt, headed by Mahomet, the son of ^,bu Beker, 
and brother of Ayesha, together with numbers of a sect of 
zealots called Karegites, who took the lead. These deputies 
encamped like an army within a league of Medina, and sum- 
moned the Caliph by message either to redress their grievances 
or to abdicate. 

Othman in consternation applied to Ali to go forth and 
pacify the multitude. He consented, on condition that Oth- 
man would previously make atonement for his errors from the 
pulpit. Harassed and dismayed, the aged Caliph mounted the 
pulpit, and with a voice broken by sobs and tears, exclaimed, 
66 My God, I beg pardon of thee, and turn to thee with peni- 
tence and sorrow." The whole assemblage were moved and 
softened, and wept with the Caliph. 

Merwan, the intriguing and well-paid secretary of Othman, 
and the soul of his government, had been absent during these 
occurrences, and on returning reproached the Caliph with what 
he termed an act of weakness. Having his permission, he ad- 
dressed the populace in a strain that soon roused them to ten- 
fold ire. Ali, hereupon, highly indignant, renounced any fur- 
ther interference in the matter. 

Naile, the wife of Othman, who had heard the words of 
Merwan, and beheld the fury of the people, warned her husband 
of the storm gathering over his head, and prevailed upon him 
again to solicit the mediation of Ali. The latter suffered him- 
self to be persuaded, and went forth among the insurgents. 
Partly by good words and liberal donations from the treasury, 
partly by a written promise from the Caliph to redress all their 
grievances, the insurgents were quieted, all but the deputies 
from Egypt, who came to complain against the Caliph's foster- 
brother Abdallah Ibn Saad, who they said had oppressed them 
with exactions, and lavished their blood in campaigns in Bar- 
bary, merely for his own fame and profit, without retaining a 



OTHMAN. 



163 



foothold in the country. To pacify these complainants, Oth- 
man displaced Abdallah from the government, and left them to 
name his successor. They unanimously named Mahomet, the 
brother of Ayesha, who had, in fact, been used by that in- 
triguing woman as a firebrand to kindle this insurrection ; her 
object being to get Telha appointed to the Caliphat. 

The insurgent camp now broke up. Mahomet, with his 
followers, set out to take possession of his post, and the aged 
Caliph flattered himself he would once more be left in peace. 

Three days had Mahomet and his train been on their jour- 
ney, when they were overtaken by a black slave on a drome- 
dary. They demanded who he was, and whither he was tra 
veiling so rapidly. He gave himself out as a slave of the 
secretary Merwan bearing a message from the Caliph to his 
emir in Egypt. "I am the emir," said Mahomet. "My 
errand," said the slave, " is to the emir Abdallah Ibn Saad." 
He was asked if he had a letter, and on his prevaricating was 
searched. A letter w r as found concealed in a water-flask. It 
was from the Caliph, briefly ordering the emir, on the arrival 
of Mahomet Ibn Abu Beker, to make way with him secretly, 
destroy his diploma, and imprison until further orders those 
who had brought complaints to Medina. 

Mahomet Ibn Abu Beker returned furious to Medina, and 
showed the perfidious letter to Ali, Zobeir, and Telha, who re- 
paired with him to Othman. The latter denied any know- 
ledge of the letter. It must then, they said, be a forgery of 
Merwan's, and requested that he might be summoned. Oth- 
man would not credit such treason on the part of his secretary, 
and insisted it must have been a treacherous device of one of 
his enemies. Medina was now in a ferment. There was a 
gathering of the people. All were incensed at such an atro- 
cious breach of faith, and insisted that if the letter originated 
with Othman he should resign the Caliphat; if with Merwan, 
that he should receive the merited punishment. Their de- 
mands had no effect upon the Caliph. 

Mahomet Ibn Abu Beker now sent off swift messengers to 
recall the recent insurgents from the provinces, who were re- 
turning home, and to call in aid from the neighbouring tribes. 
The dwelling of Othman was beleaguered; the alternative was 
left him to deliver up Merwan or to abdicate. He refused 
both. His life was now threatened. He barricadoed himself 
in his dwelling. The supply of water was cut off. If he made 

M 2 



164 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



his appearance on the terraced root* he was assailed with stones. 
Ali, Zobier, and Teiha endeavoured to appease the multitude, 
but they were deaf to their entreaties. Saad Ibn al Aass ad- 
vised the Caliph, as the holy month was at hand, to sally forth 
on a pilgrimage to Mecca, as the piety of the undertaking and 
the sanctity of the pilgrim garb would protect him. Oth man 
rejected the advice. 64 If they seek my life," said he, <£ they 
will not respect the pilgrim garb." 

Ali, Zobier, and Telha, seeing the danger imminent, sent 
their three sons, Hassan, Abdallah, and Mahomet, to protect 
the house. They stationed themselves by the door, and for 
some time kept the rebels at bay; but the rage of the latter 
knew no bounds. They stormed the house ; Hassan was 
wounded in its defence. The rebels rushed in; among the 
foremost was Mahomet, the brother of Ayesha, and Ainmar 
Ibn Yaser, whom Othman had ordered to be beaten. They 
found the venerable Caliph seated on a cushion, his beard 
flowing on his breast, the Koran open on his lap, and his wife 
Naile beside him. 

One of the rebels struck him on the head, another stabbed 
him repeatedly with a sword, and Mahomet Ibn Abu Beker 
thrust a javelin into his body after he was dead. His wife was 
wounded in endeavouring to protect him, and her life was only 
saved through the fidelity of a slave. His house was plun- 
dered, as were some of the neighbouring houses, and two 
chambers of the treasury. 

As soon as the invidious Ayesha heard that the murder 
was accomplished, she went forth in hypocritical guise loudly 
bewailing the death of a man to whom she had secretly been 
hostile, and joining with the Ommiah family in calling for 
blood revenge. 

The noble and virtuous Ali, with greater sincerity, was in- 
censed at his sons for not sacrificing their lives in defence of 
the Caliph, and reproached the sons of Telha and Zobeir with 
being lukewarm. " Why are you so angry, father of Hassan?" 
said Telha ; " had Othman given up Merwan this evil would 
not have happened." 

In fact it has been generally affirmed that the letter really 
was written by Merwan without the knowledge of the Caliph, 
and was intended to fall into the hands of Mahomet, and pro- 
duce the effect which resulted from it. Merwan, it is alleged, 
having the charge of the correspondence of the Caliphat, had 



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repeatedly abused the confidence of the weak and super- 
annuated Othman in like manner, but not with such a nefarious 
aim. Of late he had secretly joined the cabal against the 
Caliph. 

The body of Othman lay exposed for three days, and was 
then buried in the clothes in which he was slain, unwashed and 
without any funeral ceremony. He was eighty-two years old 
at the time of his death, and had reigned nearly twelve years. 
The event happened in the thirty -fifth year of the Hegira, in 
the year 655 of the Christian era. Notwithstanding his pro- 
fusion and the sums lavished upon his favourites, immense 
treasures were found in his dwelling, a considerable part of 
which he had set apart for charitable purposes. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

We have already seen that the faith of Islam had begun to 
lose its influence in binding together the hearts of the faithful, 
and uniting their feelings and interests in one common cause. 
The factions which sprang up at the very death of Mahomet 
had increased with the election of every successor, and candi- 
dates for the succession multiplied as the brilliant successes of 
the Moslem arms elevated victorious generals to popularity and 
renown. On the assassination of Othman, four candidates were 
presented for the Caliphat ; and the fortuitous assemblage of 
deputies from the various parts of the Moslem empire threat- 
ened to make the election difficult and tumultuous. 

The most prominent candidate was Ali, who had the strongest 
natural claim, being cousin and son-in-law of Mahomet, and 
his children by Fatima being the only posterity of the prophet. 
He was of the noblest branch of the noble race of Koreish. He 
possessed the three qualities most prized by Arabs : courage, 
eloquence, and munificence. His intrepid spirit had gained 
him from the prophet the appellation of The Lion of God ; 
specimens of his eloquence remain in some verses and sayings 
preserved among the Arabs ; and his munificence was mani- 
fested in sharing among others, every Friday, what remained 
in the treasury. Of his magnanimity, we have given repeated 
instances ; his noble scorn of everything false and mean, and the 
absence in his conduct of everything like selfish intrigue. 

His right to the Caliphat was supported by the people of 
Cufa, the Egyptians, and a great part of the Arabs who were 
desirous of a line of Caliphs of the blood of Mahomet. He was 



166 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



opposed, however, as formerly, by the implacable Ayesha, who, 
though well-stricken in years, retained an unforgiving recol- 
lection of his having once questioned her chastity. 

A second candidate was Zobeir, the same warrior who dis- 
tinguished himself by his valour in the campaign of Barbary, 
by his modesty in omitting to mention his achievements, and 
in declining to accept their reward. His pretensions to the 
Caliphat were urged by the people of Bassora. 

A third candidate was Telha, who had been one of the six 
electors of Othrnan, and who had now the powerfal support of 
Ayesha. 

A fourth candidate was Moawyah, the military governor of 
Syria, and popular from his recent victories by sea and land. 
He had, moreover, immense wealth to back his claims, and was 
head of the powerful tribe of Koreish; but he was distant from 
the scene of election, and in his absence his partisans could 
only promote confusion and delay. 

It was a day of tumult and trouble in Medina. The body 
of Othman was still unburied. His wife Naile, at the instiga- 
tion of Ayesha, sent off his bloody vest to be carried through 
the distant provinces, a ghastly appeal to the passions of the 
inhabitants. 

The people, apprehending discord and disunion, clamoured 
for the instant nomination of a Caliph. The deputations, 
which had come from various parts with complaints against 
Othman, became impatient. There were men from Babylonia, 
and Mesopotamia, and other parts of Persia; from Syria and 
Egypt, as well as from the three divisions of Arabia; these 
assembled tumultuously, and threatened the safety of the three 
candidates, Ali, Telha, and Zobeir, unless an election were 
made in four-and-twenty hours. 

In this dilemma, some of the principal Moslems repaired to 
Ah, and entreated him to accept the office. He consented with 
reluctance, but would do nothing clandestinely, and refused to 
take their hands, the Moslem mode at that time of attesting 
fealty, unless it were in public assembly at the mosque ; lest he 
should give cause of cavil or dispute to his rivals. He refused, 
also, to make any promises or conditions. w If I am elected 
Caliph,'- said he, "I will administer the government with in- 
dependence, and deal with you all according to my ideas of 
justice. If you elect another, I will yield obedience to him, 
and be ready to serve him as his vizier." They assented to 



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everything he said, and again entreated him to accept, for the 
good of the people and of the faith. 

On the following morning there was a great assemblage of 
the people at the mosque, and Ali presented himself at the 
portal. He appeared in simple Arab style, clad in a thin cotton 
garb girded round his loins, a coarse turban, and using a bow as 
a walking-staff. He took off his slippers in reverence of the 
place, and entered the mosque bearing them in his left hand. 

Finding that Telha and Zobeir were not present, he caused 
them to be sent for. They came, and knowing the state of the 
public mind, and that ail immediate opposition would be use- 
less, offered their hands in token of allegiance. Ali paused, 
and asked them if their hearts went with their hands ; " speak 
frankly," said he ; 46 if you disapprove of my election, and will 
accept the office, I will give my hand to either of you." They 
declared their perfect satisfaction, and gave their hands. Telha's 
right arm had been maimed in the battle of Ohod, and he 
stretched it forth with difficulty. The circumstance struck the 
Arabs as an evil omen. "It is likely to be a lame business 
that is begun with a lame hand," muttered a bystander. Sub- 
sequent events seemed to justify the foreboding. 

Mowayah, the remaining candidate, being absent at his 
government in Syria, the whole family of Ommiah, of which he 
was the head, withdrew from the ceremony. This, likewise, 
boded future troubles. 

After the inauguration, Telha and Zobeir, with a view, it is 
said, to excite disturbance, applied to Ali to investigate and 
avenge the death of Othman. Ali, who knew that such a mea- 
sure would call up a host of enemies, evaded the insidious 
proposition. It was not the moment, he said, for such an in- 
vestigation. The event had its origin in old enmities and dis- 
contents instigated by the devil, and when the devil once gained 
a foothold, he never relinquished it willingly. The very mea- 
sure they recommended was one of the devil's suggestions for 
the purpose of fomenting disturbances. " However," added he, 
"if you will point out the assassins of Othman, I will not fail 
to punish them according to their guilt." 

While Ali thus avoided the dangerous litigation, he endea- 
voured to cultivate the good will of the Koreishites, and to 
strengthen himself against apprehended difficulties with the 
family of Ommiah. Telha and Zobeir, being disconcerted in 
their designs, now applied for important commands. Telha for 



168 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



the government of Cufa, and Zobeir for that of Bassora ; but 
Ali again declined complying with their wishes ; observing 
that he needed such able counsellers at hand in his present 
emergencies. They afterwards separately obtained permission 
from him to make a pilgrimage to Mecca ; and set off on that 
devout errand with piety on their lips, but crafty policy in 
their breasts ; Ayesha had already repaired to the holy city, bent 
upon opposition to the government of the man she hated. 

Ali was now Caliph, but did not feel himself securely fixed 
in his authority. Many abuses had grown up during the dotage 
of his predecessor, which called for redress, and most of the 
governments of provinces were in the hands of persons in whose 
affection and fidelity he felt no confidence. He determined 
upon a general reform ; and, as a first step, to remove from 
office all the governors who had been appointed by the super- 
annuated Othman. This measure w r as strongly opposed by 
some of his counsellors. They represented to him that he was 
not yet sufficiently established to venture upon such changes ; 
and that he would make powerful enemies of men, who, if left 
in office, would probably hasten to declare allegiance to him 
now that he was Caliph. 

Ali was not to be persuaded. " Sedition," he said, " like 
fire, is easily extinguished at the commencement ; but the 
longer it burns the more fiercely it blazes." 

He was advised, at least, to leave his formidable rival Moa- 
wyah, for the present, in the government of Syria, as he was 
possessed of greath wealth and influence, and a powerful army, 
and might rouse that whole province to rebellion ; and in such 
case might be joined by Telha and Zobeir, who were both dis- 
appointed and disaffected men. He had recently shown his 
influence over the feelings of the people under his command ; 
when the bloody vest of Othman arrived in the province, he 
had displayed it from the pulpit of the mosque in Damascus. 
The mosque resounded with lamentations mingled with clamours 
for the revenge of blood ; for Othman had w^on the hearts of 
the people of Syria by his munificence. Some of the noblest 
inhabitants of Damascus swore to remain separate from their 
wives, and not to lay their heads on a pillow until blood for 
blood had atoned for the death of Othman. Finally the vest 
had been hoisted as a standard, and had fired the Syrian army 
with a desire for vengeance. 

Ali's counsellor represented all these things to him. " Suffer 



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Moawyah, therefore," added he, " to remain in command until 
he has acknowledged your government, and then he may be 
displaced without turmoil. Nay, I will pledge myself to bring 
him bound hand and foot into your presence." 

Ali spurned at this counsel, and swore he would practise no 
such treachery, but would deal with Moawyah with the sword 
alone. He commenced immediately his plan of reform, with 
the nomination of new governors devoted to his service. Ab- 
dallah Ibn Abbas was appointed to Arabia Felix, Ammar Ibn 
Sahel to Cufa, Oth man Ibn Hanif to Bassora, Sahel Ibn Hanif 
to Syria, and Saad Ibn Kais to Egypt. These generals lost 
no time in repairing to their respective governments, but the 
result soon convinced Ali that he had been precipitate. 

Jaali, the governor of Arabia Felix, readily resigned his post 
to Abdallah Ibn Abbas, and retired to Mecca ; but he took 
with him the public treasure, and delivered it into the hands of 
Ayesha, and her confederates Telha and Zobeir, who were 
already plotting rebellion. 

Othman Ibn Hanif, on arriving at Bassora to take the com- 
mand, found the people discontented and rebellious, and having 
no force to subjugate them, esteemed himself fortunate in 
escaping from their hands and returning to the Caliph. 

When Ammar Ibn Sahel reached the confines of Cufa, he 
learnt that the people were unanimous in favour of Abu Musa 
Alashari, their present governor, and determined to support him 
by fraud or force. Ammar had no disposition to contend with 
them, the Cufians being reputed the most treacherous and per- 
fidious people of the East ; so he turned the head of his horse, 
and journeyed back mortified and disconcerted to Ali. 

Saad Ibn Kais was received in Egypt with murmurs by the 
inhabitants, who were indignant at the assassination of Othman, 
and refused to submit to the government of Ali, until justice 
was done upon the perpetrators of that murder. Saad pru- 
dently, therefore, retraced his steps to Medina. 

Sahel Ibn Hanif had no better success in Syria, he was met 
at Tabuc by a body of cavalry, who demanded his name and 
business. "For my name," said he, "I am Sahel, the son of 
Hanif ; and for my business, I am governor of this province, 
as lieutenant of the Caliph Ali, Commander of the Faithful." 
They assured him in reply, that Syria had already an able 
governor in Moawyah, son of Abu Sofian, and that to their 
certain knowledge there was not room in the province for the 
sole of his foot ; so saying, they unsheathed their scimetars. 



170 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



The new governor, who was not provided with a body of 
troops sufficient to enforce his authority, returned also to the 
Caliph with this intelligence. Thus of the five governors, so 
promptly sent forth by AH in pursuance of his great plan of 
reform, Abdallah Ibn Abbas was the only one permitted to 
assume his post. 

When Ali received tidings of the disaffection of Syria, he 
wrote a letter to Moawyah, claiming his allegiance, and trans- 
mitted it by an especial messenger. The latter was detained 
many days by the Syrian commander, and then sent back, 
accompanied by another messenger, bearing a sealed letter 
superscribed, u From Moawyah to Ali." The two couriers 
arrived at Medina in the cool of the evening, the hour of con- 
course, and passed through the multitude bearing the letter 
aloft on a staff, so that all could see the superscription. The 
people thronged after the messengers into the presence of Ali. 
On opening the letter it was found to be a perfect blank, in 
token of contempt and defiance. 

Ali soon learned that this was no empty bravado. He was 
apprised by his own courier that an army of sixty thousand 
men was actually on foot in Syria, and that the bloody garment 
of Othman, the standard of rebellion, was erected in the mosque 
at Damascus. Upon this he solemnly called Allah and the 
prophet to witness that he was not guilty of that murder ; but 
made active preparations to put down the rebellion by force of 
arms ; sending missives into all the provinces, demanding the 
assistance of the faithful. 

The Moslems were now divided into two parties: those who 
adhered to Ali, among whom were the people of Medina gene- 
rally ; and the Motazeli, or Separatists, who were in the oppo- 
sition. The latter were headed by the able and vindictive 
Ayesha, who had her head-quarters at Mecca, and with the aid 
of Telha and Zobeir, was busy organising an insurrection. 
She had induced the powerful family of Ommiah to join her 
cause, and had sent couriers to ali the governors of provinces 
whom Ali had superseded, inviting them to unite in the 
rebellion. The treasure brought to her by Jaali, the displaced 
governor of Arabia Felix, furnished her with the means of 
war, and the bloody garment of Othman proved a powerful 
auxiliary. 

A council of the leaders of this conspiracy was held at 
Mecca. Some inclined to join the insurgents in Syria, but it 



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was objected, that Moawyah was sufficiently powerful in that 
country without their aid. The intrepid Ayesha was for pro- 
ceeding immediately to Medina and attacking Ali in his capital, 
but it was represented that the people of Medina were unani- 
mous in his favour, and too powerful to be assailed with success. 
It was finally determined to march for Bassora, Telha assuring 
them that he had a strong party in that city, and pledging 
himself for its surrender. 

A proclamation was accordingly made by sound of trumpet 
through the streets of Mecca to the following effect: — 

" In the name of the most high God. Ayesha, Mother of 
the Faithful, accompanied by the chiefs Telha and Zobeir, is 
going in person to Bassora. All those of the faithful who burn 
with a desire to defend the faith and avenge the death of the 
Caliph Othman, have only to present themselves and they shall 
be furnished with all necessaries for the journey." 

Ayesha sallied forth from one of the gates of Mecca, borne in 
a litter placed on the back of a strong camel named Alascar. 
Telha and Zobeir attended her on each side, followed by six 
hundred persons of some note, all mounted on camels, and a 
promiscuous multitude of about six thousand on foot. 

After marching some distance, the motley host stopped to 
refresh themselves on the bank of a rivulet near a village. Their 
arrival aroused the dogs of the village, who surrounded Ayesha 
and barked at her most clamorously. Like all Arabs, she was 
superstitious, and considered this an evil omen. Her apprehen- 
sions were increased on learning that the name of the village 
was Jowab. "My trust is in God/' exclaimed she, solemnly. 
" To him do I turn in time of trouble," — a text from the Koran, 
used by Moslems in time of extreme danger. In fact, she called 
to mind some proverb of the prophet about the dogs of Jowab, 
and a prediction that one of his wives would be barked at by 
them when in a situation of imminent peril. " I will go no 
further," cried Ayesha, " I will halt here for the night." So 
saying, she struck her camel on the leg to make him kneel that 
she might alight. 

Telha and Zobeir, dreading any delay, brought some pea- 
sants whom they had suborned to assign a different name to 
the village, and thus quieted her superstitious fears. About the 
same time some horsemen, likewise instructed by them, rode up 
with a false report that Ali was not far distant with a body of 
troops. Ayesha hesitated no longer, but mounting nimbly on 
her camel, pressed to the head of her little army, and they all 



172 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



pushed forward with increased expedition towards Bassora. 
Arrived before the city, they had hoped, from the sanguine 
declarations of Telha, to see it throw open its gates to receive 
them ; the gates, however, remained closely barred. Othman 
Ibn Hanif, whom Ali had sent without success to assume the 
government of Cufa, was now in command at Bassora, whither 
he had been invited by a part of the inhabitants. 

Avesha sent a summons to the governor to come forth and 
join the standard of the faithful, or at least to throw open his 
gates : but he was a timid, undecided man, and confiding the 
defence of the city to his lieutenant, Am mar, retired in great 
tribulation within his own dwelling in the citadel, and went to 
prayers. 

Ammar summoned the people to arms, and called a meeting 
of the principal inhabitants in the mosque. He soon found out, 
to his great discouragement, that the people were nearly equally 
divided into two factions, one for Ali, since he was regularly 
elected Caliph, the other composed of partisans of Telha. The 
parties, instead of deliberating, fell to reviling, and ended by 
throwing dust in each other's faces. 

In the mean time Avesha and her host approached the walls, 
and many of the inhabitants went forth to meet her. Telha 
and Zobeir alternately addressed the multitude, and were fol- 
lowed by Avesha, who harangued them from her camel. Her 
voice, which she elevated that it might be heard by all, became 
shrill and sharp, instead of intelligible, and provoked the merri- 
ment of some of the crowd. A dispute arose as to the justice 
of her appeal ; mutual revilings again took place between the 
parties ; thev gave each other the lie. and again threw dust in 
each other's faces. One of the men of Bassora then turned and 
reproached Avesha. " Shame on thee, oh Mother of the 
Faithful !" said he. " The murder of the Caliph was a griev- 
ous crime, but was a less abomination than thy forgetfulness of 
the modesty of thy sex. Wherefore dost thou abandon thy quiet 
home, and thy protecting veil, and ride forth like a man bare- 
faced on that accursed camel, to foment quarrels and dissensions 
among the faithful ?" 

Another of the crowd scoffed at Telha and Zobeir. " You 
have brought your mother with you," cried he, "why did you 
not also bring your wives?*' 

Insults were soon followed by blows, swords were drawn, a 
skirmish ensued, and they fought until the hour of prayer 
separated them. 



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173 



Ayesha sat down before Bassora with her armed host, and 
some days passed in alternate skirmishes and negotiations. 
At length a truce was agreed upon, until deputies could be 
sent to Medina to learn the cause of these dissensions among 
the Moslems, and whether Telha and Zobeir agreed volunta- 
rily to the election of Ali, or did so on compulsion. If the 
former, they should be considered as rebels ; if the latter, their 
partisans in Bassora should be considered justified in upholding 
them. 

The insurgents, however, only acquiesced in this agreement 
to get the governor in their power, and so gain possession of 
the city. They endeavoured to draw him to their camp by 
friendly messages, but he apparently suspected their intentions, 
and refused to come forth until the answer should be received 
from Medina. Upon this Telha and Zobeir, taking advantage 
of a stormy night, gained an entrance into the city with a chosen 
band, and surprised the governor in the mosque, where they 
took him prisoner, after killing forty of his guard. They sent 
to Ayesha, to know what they should do with their captive. 
" Let him be put to death," was her fierce reply. Upon this 
one of her women interceded. " I adjure thee," said she, "in 
the name of Allah and the companions of the apostle, do not 
slay him." Ayesha was moved by this adjuration, and com- 
muted his punishment into forty stripes and imprisonment. He 
was doomed, however, to suffer still greater evils before he 
escaped from the hands of his captors. His beard was plucked 
out hair by hair — one of the most disgraceful punishments that 
can be inflicted on an Arab. His eyebrows were served in the 
same manner, and he was then contemptuously set at liberty. 

The city of Bassora was now taken possession of without 
further resistance. Ayesha entered it in state, supported by 
Telha and Zobeir, and followed by her troops and adherents. 
The inhabitants were treated with kindness, as friends who had 
acted through error, and every exertion w r as made to secure 
their good will, and to incense them against Ali, who was 
represented as a murderer and usurper. 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
When Ali heard of the revolt at Mecca, and the march 
against Bassora, he called a general meeting in the mosque, 
and endeavoured to stir up the people to arm and follow him in 
pursuit of the rebels ; but, though he spoke with his usual elo- 



174 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



quence, and was popular in Medina, a coldness and apathy per- 
vaded the assembly. Some dreaded a civil war ; others recol- 
lected that the leader of the rebels, against whom they were 
urged to take up arms, was Ayesha, the favourite wife of the 
prophet, the Mother of the Faithful ; others doubted whether 
Ali might not, in some degree, be implicated in the death of 
Othman, which had been so artfully charged against him. 

At length a Moslem of distinction, Ziyad Ibn Hantelah, rose 
with generous warmth, and, stepping up to Ali, " Let whoso- 
ever will, hold back," cried he, "we will go forward." 

At the same time, two Ansars, or doctors of the law, men of 
great weight, pronounced, with oracular voice, "The Imam 
Othman, master of the two testimonies, did not die by the 
hand of the master of the two testimonies"* — that is to say, 
" Othman was not slain by Ali." 

The Arabs are a mercurial people, and acted upon by sudden 
impulses. The example of Ziyad, and the declaration of the 
two Ansars, caused an immediate excitement. Abu Kotada, 
an Ansar of distinction, drew his sword. " The apostle of 
God," said he, "upon whom be peace, girt me with this sword. 
It has long been sheathed. I now devote it to the destruction 
of these deceivers of the faithful." 

A matron, in a transport of enthusiasm, exclaimed, " Oh, 
Commander of the Faithful, if it were permitted by our law, I 
myself would go with thee ; but here is my cousin, dearer to me 
than my own life, he shall follow thee, and partake of thy for- 
tunes. " 

Ali profited by the excitement of the moment, and making a 
hasty levy, marched out of Medina at the head of about nine 
hundred men, eager to overtake the rebels before they should 
reach Bassora. Hearing, however, that Ayesha was already in 
possession of that city, he halted at a place called Arrabdah 
until he should be joined by reinforcements, sending messengers 
to Abu Musa Alashair, governor of Cufa, and to various other 
commanders, ordering speedy succour. He was soon joined by 
his eldest son, Hassan, who undertook to review his conduct, 
and lecture him on his policy. " I told you," said he, " when 
the Calph Othman was besieged, to go out of the city, lest you 

* The two testimonies mean the two fundamental beliefs of the 
Moslem creed: "There is but one God. Mahomet is the apostle of 
A God." The Caliph, as Imam or pontiff of the Mussulman religion, is 
master of the two testimonies. 



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should be implicated in his death. I told you not to be inau- 
gurated until deputies from the Arabian tribes were present. 
Lastly, I told you when Ayesha and her two confederates took 
the field, to keep at home until they should be pacified; so that, 
should any mischief result, you might not be made responsible. 
You have not heeded my advice, and the consequence is that 
you may now be murdered to-morrow, with nobody to blame 
but yourself." 

Ali listened with impatience to this filial counsel, or, rather, 
censure. When it was finished, he replied, " Had I left the 
city when Othman was besieged, I should myself have been 
surrounded. Had I waited for my inauguration until all the 
tribes came in, I should have lost the votes of the people of 
Medina, the ' Helpers,' who have the privilege of disposing of 
the government. Had I remained at home after my enemies 
had taken the field, like a wild beast lurking in its hole, I 
should, like a wild beast, have been digged out and destroyed. 
If I do not look after my own affairs, who will look after them ? 
If I do not defend myself, who will defend me ? Such are my 
reasons for acting as I have acted ; and now, my son, hold your 
peace/' We hear of no further counsels from Hassan. 

Ali had looked for powerful aid from Abu Musa Alashair, 
governor of Cufa ; but he was of a lukewarm spirit, and che- 
rished no good will to the Caliph, from his having sent Othman 
Ibn Hanef to supplant him, as has been noticed. He therefore 
received his messengers with coldness, and sent a reply full of 
evasions. Ali was enraged at this reply, and his anger was 
increased by the arrival, about the same time, of the unfortunate 
Othman Ibn Hanef, who had been so sadly scourged and mal- 
treated, and ejected from his government at Bassora. What 
most grieved the heart of the ex-governor was the indignity 
that had been offered to his person. " Oh, Commander of the 
Faithful," said he, mournfully, " when you sent me to Bassora 
I had a beard, and now, alas, I have not a hair on my chin !" 

Ali commiserated the unfortunate man who thus deplored the 
loss of his beard more than of his government, but comforted 
him with the assurance that his sufferings would be counted to 
him as merits. He then spoke of his own case ; the Caliphs, 
his predecessors, had reigned without opposition ; but, for his 
own part, those who had joined in electing him had proved 
false to him. " Telha and Zobeir," said he, " have submitted 
to Abu Beker, Omar, and Othman ; why have they arrayed 



176 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



themselves against me? By Allah, they shall find that I am 
not one jot inferior to my predecessors ?" 

Ali now sent more urgent messages to Abu Musa, governor 
of Cufa, by his son Hassan and Ammar Ibn Yaser, his general 
of the horse, a stern old soldier, ninety years of age, the same 
intrepid spokesman who, for his hardihood of tongue, had been 
severely maltreated by order of the Caliph Othman. They 
were reinforced by Alashtar, a determined officer, who had been 
employed in the previous mission, and irritated by the prevari- 
cations of Abu Musa. 

Hassan and Ammar were received with ceremonious respect 
by the governor, and their mission was discussed, according to 
usage, in the mosque, but Alashtar remained with the guard 
that had escorted them. The envoys pressed their errand with 
warmth, urging the necessity of their sending immediate suc- 
cour to the Caliph. Abu Musa, however, who prided himself 
more upon words than deeds, answered them by an evasive 
harangue; signifying his doubts of the policy of their proceed- 
ing; counselling that the troops should return to Medina, that 
the whole matter in dispute should be investigated, and the 
right to rule amicably adjusted. "It is a bad business," added 
he, "and he that meddles least with it, stands less chance of 
doing wrong, For what says the prophet touching an evil 
affair of the kind? He who sleepeth in it is more secure than 
he that waketh ; he that lyeth than he that sitteth ; he that 
sitteth than he that standeth ; he that standeth than he that 
walketh ; he that walketh than he that rideth. Sheathe, 
therefore, your swords, take the heads from your lances, and 
the strings from your bows, and receive him that is injured 
into your dwellings, until all matters are adjusted and recon- 
ciled." 

The ancient general Ammar replied to him tartly, that he 
had misapplied the words of the prophet, which were meant 
to rebuke such servants as himself, who were better sitting than 
standing, and sleeping than awake. Abu Musa would have 
answered him with another long harangue in favour of non- 
resistance, but was interrupted by the sudden entrance of a 
number of his soldiers, bearing evidence of having been pite- 
ously beaten. While Abu Musa had been holding forth at the 
mosque, Alashtar, the hardy officer who remained with the 
escort, had seized upon the castle of Cufa, caused the garrison to 
be soundly scourged, and sent them to the mosque to cut short 



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the negotiation. This prompt measure of Alashtar placed the 
cold- spirited conduct of Abu Musa in so ridiculous a light that 
the feelings of the populace were instantly turned against him. 
Hassan, the son of Ali, seized upon the moment to address the 
assembly. He maintained the innocence of his father in regard 
to the assassination of Othman. u His father," he said, " had 
either done wrong, or had suffered wrong. If he had done 
wrong, God would punish him. If he had suffered wrongs 
God would help him. The case was in the hand of the Most 
High. Telha and Zobeir, who were the first to inaugurate 
him, were the first to turn against him. What had he done, as 
Caliph, to merit such opposition ? What injustice had he com- 
mitted? What covetous or selfish propensity had he mani- 
fested? I am going- back to my father," added Hassan, 
u those who are disposed to render him assistance may fol- 
low me." 

His eloquence was powerfully effective, and the people of 
Cufa followed him to the number of nearly nine thousand. In 
the mean time the army of Ali had been reinforced from other 
quarters, and now amounted to thirty thousand men, all of 
whom had seen service. When he appeared with his force be- 
fore Bassora, Ayesha and her confederates were dismayed, and 
began to treat of conciliation. Various messages passed be- 
tween the hostile parties, and Telha and Zobeir, confiding in 
the honourable faith of Ali, had several interviews with him. 

W T hen these late deadly enemies were seen walking back- 
ward and forward together, in sight of either army, and hold- 
ing long conversations, it was confidently expected that a peace 
would be effected ; and such would have been the case had no 
malign influence interfered ; for Ali, with his impressive elo- 
quence, touched the hearts of his opponents when he reproached 
them with their breach of faith, and warned them against the 
judgments of heaven. " Dost thou not remember," said he to 
Zobeir, " how Mahomet once asked thee if thou didst not love 
his dear son Ali? and w^hen thou answered yea, dost thou not 
remember his reply: ' Nevertheless a day will come when thou 
wilt rise up against him, and draw down miseries upon him and 
upon all the faithful?' " 

" I remember it well," replied Zobeir, u and had I remem- 
bered it before, never would I have taken up arms against 

y0U *" 

He returned to his camp determined not to fight against 



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THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



Ali, but was overruled by the vindictive Ayesha. Every at- 
tempt at pacification was defeated by that turbulent woman, 
and the armies were at length brought to battle. Ayesha took 
the field on that memorable occasion, mounted in a litter on 
her great camel Alascar, and rode up and down among her 
troops, animating them by her presence and her voice. The 
fight was called, from that circumstance, the Battle of the 
Camel, and also the Battle of Karibah, from the field on which 
it was fought . 

It was an obstinate and bloody conflict, for Moslem was ar- 
rayed against Moslem, and nothing is so merciless and unyield- 
ing as civil war. In the heat of the fight Merwan Ibn Hakem, 
who stood near Ali, noticed Telha endeavouring to goad on 
the flagging valour of his troops. " Behold the traitor Telha," 
cried he, " but lately one of the murderers of Othman, now the 
pretended avenger of his blood." So saying, he let fly an 
arrow and wounded him in the leg. Telha writhed with the 
pain, and at the same moment his horse reared and threw him. 
In the dismay and anguish of the moment, he imprecated the 
vengeance of Allah upon his own head for the death of Othman. 
Seeing his boot full of blood, he made one of his followers 
take him up behind him on his horse and convey him to Bas- 
sora. Finding death approaching, he called to one of Ali's 
men who happened to be present, " Give me your hand," said 
the dying penitent, " that 1 may put mine in it, and thus renew 
my oath of fealty to Ali." With these words he expired. His 
dying speech was reported to Ali, and touched his generous 
heart. " Allah," said he, " would not call him to heaven until 
he had blotted out his first breach of his word by this last vow 
of fidelity. 7 ' 

Zobeir, the other conspirator, had entered into the battle 
with a heavy heart. His previous conversation with Ali had 
awakened compunction in his bosom. He now r saw that old 
Ammar Ibn Yaser, noted for probity and rectitude, was in the 
Caliph's host; and he recollected hearing Mahomet say that 
Ammar Ibn Yaser would always be found on the side of truth 
and justice. With a boding spirit he drew out of the battle, 
and took the road towards Mecca. As he was urging his 
melancholy way, he came to a valley crossed by the brook 
Sabaa, where Hanef Ibn Kais was encamped with a horde of 
Arabs, awaiting the issue of the battle, ready to join the con- 
queror and share the spoil. Hanef knew him at a distance. 



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?r Is there no one/' said he, " to bring me tidings of Zobeir?" 
One of his men, Araru Ibn Jarmuz, understood the hint, and 
spurred to overtake Zobeir. The latter, suspecting his inten- 
tions, bade him keep at a distance. A short conversation put 
them on friendly terms, and they both dismounted and con- 
versed together. The hour of prayers arrived. " Salat" (to 
prayers !) cried Zobeir. " Salat," replied Amru ; but as Zobeir 
prostrated himself in supplication, Amru struck off his head, 
and hastened with it, as a welcome trophy, to AH. That 
generous conqueror shed tears over the bleeding head of one 
who was once his friend. Then turning to his slayer, " Hence, 
miscreant !" cried he, " and carry thy tidings to Ben Safiah in 
hell." So unexpected a malediction, where he expected a re- 
ward, threw Amru into a transport of rage and desperation ; 
he uttered a rhapsody of abuse upon Ali, and then, drawing 
his sword, plunged it into his own bosom. 

Such was the end of the two leaders of the rebels. As to 
Ayesha, the implacable soul of the revolt, she had mingled that 
day in the hottest of the fight. Tabari, the Persian historian, 
with national exaggeration, declares that the heads of three- 
score and ten men were cut off that held the bridle of her 
camel, and that the inclosed litter in which she rode was 
bristled all over with darts and arrows. At last her camel was 
hamstringed, and sank with her to the ground, and she re- 
mained there until the battle was concluded. 

Ayesha might have looked for cruel treatment at the hands 
of Ali, having been his vindictive and persevering enemy, but 
he was too magnanimous to triumph over a fallen foe. It is 
said some reproachful words passed between them, but he 
treated her with respect ; gave her an attendance of forty 
females, and sent his sons Hassan and Hosein to escort her a 
day's journey toward Medina, where she was confined to her 
own house, and forbidden to intermeddle any more with affairs 
of state. He then divided the spoils among the heirs of his 
soldiers who were slain, and appointed Abdallah Ibn Abbas 
governor of Bassora. This done, he repaired to Cufa, and in 
reward of the assistance he had received from its inhabitants, 
made that city the seat of his Caliphat. These occurrences 
took place in the thirty-fifth year of the Hegira, the 655th of 
the Christian era. 



180 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

The victory at Karibah had crushed the conspiracy of Ayesha, 
and given Ali quiet dominion over Egypt, Arabia, and Persia; 
still his most formidable adversary remained unsubdued. Moa- 
wyah Ibn Abu Sofian held sway over the wealthy and populous 
province of Syria; he had immense treasures, and a powerful 
army at his command ; he had the prejudices of the Syrians 
in his favour, who had been taught to implicate Ali in the 
murder of Othman, and refused to acknowledge him as Caliph. 
Still further to strengthen himself in defiance of the sovereign 
power, he sought the alliance of Amru, who had been displaced 
from the government of Egypt by Ali, and was now a discon- 
tented man in Palestine. Restoration to that command was to 
be the reward of his successful co-operation with Moawyah in 
deposing Ali : the terms were accepted : Amru hastened to 
Damascus at the head of a devoted force; and finding the 
public mind ripe for his purpose, gave the hand of allegiance 
to Moawyah in presence of the assembled army, and pro- 
claimed him Caliph, amid the shouts of the multitude. 

Ali had in vain endeavoured to prevent the hostility of 
Moawyah by all conciliatory means ; when he heard of this 
portentous alliance, he took the field and marched for Syria, 
at the head of ninety thousand men. The Arabians, with 
their accustomed fondness for the marvellous, signalize his en- 
trance into the confines of Syria with an omen. Having halted 
his army in a place where there was no water, he summoned a 
Christian hermit, who lived in a neighbouring cave, and de- 
manded to be shown a well. The anchorite assured him that there 
was nothing but a cistern, in which there were scarce three 
buckets of rain water. Ali maintained that certain prophets of 
the people of Israel had abode there in times of old, and had 
digged a well there. The hermit replied, that a well did indeed 
exist there, but it had been shut up for ages, and all traces of it 
lost, and it was only to be discovered and reopened by a pre- 
destined hand. He then, says the Arabian tradition, produced 
a parchment scroll, written by Simeon ben Safa (Simon Ce- 
phas), one of the greatest apostles of Jesus Christ, predicting 
the coming of Mahomet, the last of the prophets, and that this 
well would be discovered, and reopened by his lawful heir and 
successor. 

Ali listened with becoming reverence to this prediction ; then 



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turning to bis attendants and pointing to a spot, " Dig there," 
said he. They digged, and after a time came to an immense 
stone, which having removed with difficulty, the miraculous well 
stood revealed, affording a seasonable supply to the army, and 
an unquestionable proof of the legitimate claim of Ali to the 
Caliphat. The venerable hermit was struck with conviction; 
he fell at the feet of Ali, embraced his knees, and never after- 
wards would leave him. 

It was on the first day of the thirty-seventh year of the 
Hegira (18th June, a.d. 657), that Ali came in sight of the 
army of Moawyah, consisting of eighty thousand men, en- 
camped on the plain of Seffein, on the banks of the Euphrates, 
on the confines of Babylonia and Syria. Associated with Mo- 
awyah was the redoubtable Amru, a powerful ally both in 
council and in the field. The army of Ali was superior in 
number ; in his host, too, he had several veterans who had 
fought under Mahomet in the famous battle of Beder, and 
thence prided themselves in the surname of Shahabah ; that is 
to say, Companions of the Prophet. The most distinguished 
of these was old Ammar Ibn Yaser, All's general of horse, who 
had fought repeatedly by the side of Mahomet. He was ninetv 
years of age, yet full of spirit and activity, and idolised by the 
Moslem soldiery. 

The armies lay encamped in sight of each other, but as it 
was the first month of the Moslem year, a sacred month, when 
all warfare is prohibited, it was consumed in negotiations; for 
Ali still wished to avoid the effusion of kindred blood. His 
efforts were in vain, and in the next month hostilities com- 
menced ; still Ali drew his sword with an unwilling' hand ; he 
charged his soldiers never to be the first to fight ; never to harm 
those who fled, and never to do violence to a woman. Moawyah 
and Amru w r ere likewise sensible of the unnatural character of 
this war ; the respective leaders, therefore, avoided any general 
action, and months passed in mere skirmishings. These, how- 
ever, were sharp and sanguinary, and in the course of four 
months Moawyah is said to have lost five and forty thousand 
men, and Ali more than half that number. 

Among the slain on the part of Ali were five and twenty 
of the Shahabah, the veterans of Beder, and companions of the 
prophet. Their deaths were deplored even by the enemy; but 
nothing caused greater grief than the fall of the brave old 
Ammar Ibn Yaser, Alts general of horse, and the patriarch of 



182 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



Moslem chivalry. Moawyah and Amru beheld him fall. "Do 
you see," cried Moawyah, " what precious lives are lost in our 
dissensions?" " See," exclaimed Amru; " would to God I had 
died twenty years since !" 

Ali forgot his usual moderation on beholding the fate of his 
brave old general of the horse ; and putting himself at the head 
of twelve thousand cavalry, made a furious charge to avenge his 
death. The ranks of the enemy were broken by the shock ; 
but the heart of Ali soon relented at the sight of carnage. 
Spurring within call of Moawyah, ff< How long," cried he, 
M shall Moslem blood be shed like water in our strife ? Come 
forth, and let Allah decide between us. Whichever is victor in 
the fight, let him be ruler." 

Amru was struck with the generous challenge, and urged 
Moawyah to accept it ; but the latter shunned an encounter 
with an enemy surnamed " The Lion" for his prowess, and who 
had always slain his adversary in single fight. Amru hinted 
at the disgrace that would attend his refusal ; to which Mo- 
awyah answered with a sneer, " You do wisely to provoke a 
combat that may make you governor of Syria." 

A desperate battle at length took place, which continued 
throughout the night. Many were slain on both sides ; but 
most on the part of the Syrians. Alashtar was the hero of this 
fight ; he was mounted upon a piebald horse, and wielded a 
two-edged sword ; every stroke of that terrible weapon clove 
down a warrior, and every stroke was accompanied by the 
shout of Allah Achbar ! He was heard to utter that portentous 
exclamation, say the Arabian historians, four hundred times 
during the darkness of the night. 

The day dawned disastrously upon the Syrians. Alashtar 
was pressing them to their very encampment, and Moawyah 
was in despair; when Amru suggested an expedient, founded 
on the religious scruples of the Moslems. On a sudden, the 
Syrians elevated the Koran on the points of their lances. " Be- 
hold the book of God," cried they. " Let that decide our dif- 
ferences." The soldiers of Ali instantly dropped the points of 
their weapons. It was in vain Ali represented that this was 
all a trick, and endeavoured to urge them on. " What!" cried 
they, " do you refuse to submit to the decision of the book of 
God!" 

Ali found that to persist would be to shock their bigot pre- 
judices, and to bring a storm upon his own head ; reluctantly, 



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therefore, he sounded a retreat ; but it required repeated blasts 
to call off Alashtar, who came, his scimetar dripping with blood, 
and murmuring at being, as he said, tricked out of so glorious 
a victory. 

Umpires were now appointed to settle this great dispute 
according to the dictates of the Koran. Ali would have nomi- 
nated on his part Abdallah Ibn Abbas, but he was objected to, 
as being his cousin-german. He then named the brave Alash- 
tar, but he was likewise set aside, and Abu Musa pressed upon 
him ; an upright, but simple and somewhat garrulous man, as 
has already been shown. As to Moawyah, he managed on his 
part to have Amru Ibn al Aass appointed, the shrewdest and 
most sagacious man in all Arabia. The two rival leaders then 
retired ; Ali to Cufa, and Moawyah to Damascus, leaving 
generals in command of their respective armies. 

The arbitrators met several months afterwards at Jumat al 
Joudel, in presence of both armies, who were pledged to sup- 
port their decision. Amru, who understood the weak points of 
Musa's character, treated him with great deference, and after 
having won his confidence, persuaded him that, to heal these 
dissensions and prevent the shedding of kindred blood, it 
would be expedient to set aside both candidates and let the 
faithful elect a third. This being agreed upon, a tribunal was 
erected between the armies, and Amru, through pretended de- 
ference, insisted that Musa should be the first to ascend it and 
address the people. Abu Musa accordingly ascended, and 
proclaimed with a loud voice, " I depose Ali and Moawyah 
from the office to which they pretend, even as I draw this ring 
from my finger." So saying he descended. 

Amru now mounted in his turn. " You have heard," said 
he, "how Musa on his part has deposed Ali; I, on my part, 
depose him also; and I adjudge the Caliphat to Moawyah, and 
invest him with it, as I invest my finger with this ring: and I 
do it with justice, for he is the rightful successor and avenger 
of Othman." 

Murmurs succeeded from the partisans of Ali and from Abu 
Musa, who complained of the insincerity of Amru. The Syrians 
applauded the decision, and both parties, being prevented from 
hostilities by a solemn truce, separated without any personal 
violence; but with mutual revilings and augmented enmity. 
A kind of religious feud sprang up, which continued for a long 
time between the house of Ali and that of Ommiah. They 



184 



THE SUCCESSOKS OF MAHOMET. 



never mentioned each other without a curse, and pronounced 
an excommunication upon each other whenever they harangued 
the people in the mosque. 

The power of Ali now began to wane ; the decision pro- 
nounced against him influenced many of his own party, and a 
revolt was at length stirred up among his followers, by a set of 
fanatic zealots called Karigites or seceders ; who insisted that 
he had done wrong in referring to the judgment of men what 
ought to be decided by God alone; and that he had refused 
to break the truce and massacre his enemies when in his power, 
though they had proved themselves to be the enemies of God. 
They therefore renounced allegiance to him; appointed Abdal- 
lah Ibn Waheb as their leader, and set up their standard at 
Naharwan, a few miles from Bagdad, whither the disaffected 
repaired from all quarters, until they amounted to twenty-five 
thousand. 

The appearance of Ali with an army brought many of them 
to their senses. Willing to use gentle measures, he caused a 
standard to be erected outside of his camp, and proclaimed a 
pardon to such of the malcontents as should rally round it. 
The rebel army immediately began to melt away, until Abdal- 
lah Ibn Waheb was left with only four thousand adherents. 
These, however, were fierce enthusiasts, and their leader was a 
fanatic. Trusting that Allah and the prophet would render 
him miraculous assistance, he attacked the army of Ali with 
his handful of men, who fought with such desperation that nine 
only escaped. These served as firebrands to enkindle future 
mischief. 

Moawyah had now recourse to a stratagem to sow troubles 
in Egypt, and ultimately to put it in the hands of Amru. Ali, 
on assuming the Caliph at, had appointed Saad Ibn Kais to the 
government of that province, who administered its affairs with 
ability. Moawyah now forged a letter from Saad to himself, 
professing devotion to his interests, and took measures to let 
it fall into the hands of Ali. The plan was successful. The 
suspicions of Ali were excited; he recalled Saad and appointed 
in his place Mahomet, son of Abu Beker, and brother of 
Ayesha. Mahomet began to govern with a high hand ; pro- 
scribing and exiling the leaders of the Othman faction, who 
made the murder of the late Caliph a question of party. This 
immediately produced commotions and insurrections, and all 
Egypt was getting into a blaze. Ali again sought to remedy 



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the evil by changing the governor, and despatched Malec Shu- 
tur, a man of prudence and ability, to take the command. In 
the course of his journey Malec lodged one night at the house 
of a peasant, on the confines of Arabia and Egypt. The pea- 
sant was a creature of Moawyah's, and poisoned his unsus- 
pecting guest with a pot of honey. Moawyah followed up this 
treacherous act by sending Amru with six thousand horse to 
seize upon Egypt in its present stormy state. Amru hastened 
with joy to the seene of his former victories, made his way 
rapidly to Alexandria, united his force with that of Ibn 
Sharig, the leader of the Othman party, and they together 
routed Mahomet Ibn Abu Beker, and took him prisoner. 
The avengers of Othman reviled Mahomet with his assas- 
sination of that Caliph, put him to death, enclosed his body 
in the carcase of an ass, and burnt both to ashes. Then 
Amru assumed the government of Egypt as lieutenant of 
Moawyah. 

When Ayesha heard of the death of her brother, she knelt 
down in the mosque, and in the agony of her heart invoked a 
curse upon Moawyah and Amru, an invocation which she 
thenceforth repeated at the end of all her prayers. Ali, also, 
was afflicted at the death of Mahomet, and exclaimed, " The 
murderers will answer for this before God." 

CHAPTER XL. 
The loss of Egypt was a severe blow to the fortunes of Ali, 
and he had the mortification subsequently to behold his active 
rival make himself master of Hejaz, plant his standard on the 
sacred cities of Mecca and Medina, and ravage the fertile pro- 
vince of Yemen. The decline of his power affected his spirits, 
and he sank at times into despondency. His melancholy was 
aggravated by the conduct of his own brother Okail, who, 
under pretence that Ali did not maintain him in suitable 
style, deserted him in his sinking fortunes, and went over to 
Moawyah, who rewarded his unnatural desertion with ample 
revenues. 

Still Ali meditated one more grand effort. Sixty thousand 
devoted adherents pledged themselves to stand by him to the 
death, and with these he prepared to march into Syria. While 
preparations were going on, it chanced that three zealots, of the 
sect of Karigites, met as pilgrims in the mosque of Mecca, and 
fell into conversation about the battle of Naharwan, wherein 



186 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



four thousand of their brethren had lost their lives. This led 
to lamentations over the dissensions and dismemberment of the 
Moslem empire, all which they attributed to the ambition of 
Ali, Moawvah, and Amru. The Karigites were a fanatic sect, 
and these men were zealots of that dangerous kind who are 
ready to sacrifice their lives in the accomplishment of anv bigot 
plan. In their infuriate zeal they determined that the onlv vrav 
to restore peace and unity to Islam, would be to destrov those 
three ambitious leaders, and they devoted themselves to the 
task, each undertaking to despatch his victim. The several 
assassinations were to be effected at the same time, on Friday, 
the seventeenth of the month Ramadan, at the hour of prayer : 
and that their blows might be infallibly mortal, they were to 
use poisoned weapons. 

The names of the conspirators were Barak Ibn Abdallah. 
Amru Ibn A si, and Abda'lrahman Ibn Melsfem. Barak re- 
paired to Damascus, and mingled in the retinue of Moawvah on 
the day appointed, which was the Moslem Sabbath : then, as the 
usurper was officiating in the mosque as pontiff. Barak grave him 
what he considered a fatal blow. The wound was desperate, 
but the life of Moawvah was saved by desperate remedies ; the 
assassin was mutilated of hands and feet and suffered to live, but 
was slain in after vears by a friend of Moawvah. 

Amru Ibn Asi. the second of these fanatics, entered the 
mosque in E^vpt on the same dav and hour, and with one blow 
killed Karijah the Imam, who officiated, imagining him to be 
Amru Ibn al Aass, who was prevented from attending the 
mosque through illness. The assassin being led before his in- 
tended victim, and informed of his error, replied with the resig- 
nation of a predestinarian : " I intended Amru, but Allah 
intended Karijah.*' He was presently executed. 

Abda'lrahman. the third assassin, repaired to Cufa. where 
Ali held his court. Here he lodged with a woman of the sect- 
of the Karigites. whose husband had been killed in the battle of 
Xeharwan. To this woman he made proposals of marriage, but 
she replied she would have no man who could not bring her, as 
a dowry, three thousand drachms of silver, a slave, a maid- 
servant, and the head of Ali. He accepted the conditions, and 
joined two other Karigites, called Derwan and Shabib, with him 
in the enterprise. Thev stationed themselves in the mosque to 
await the coming of the Caliph. 

Ali had recentlv been afflicted with one of his fits of despon- 



ALT. 



187 



dency, and had uttered ejaculations which were afterwards con- 
sidered presages of his impending fate. In one of his melan- 
choly moods he exclaimed, with a heavy sigh, " Alas, my heart ! 
there is need of patience, for there is no remedy against death V* 
In parting from his house to go to the mosque, there was a 
clamour among his domestic fowls, which he interpreted into a 
fatal omen. As he entered the mosque the assassins drew their 
swords, and pretended to be fighting among themselves ; 
Derwan aimed a blow at the Caliph, but it fell short, and struck 
the gate of the mosque ; a blow from Abdalrahman was better 
aimed, and wounded Ali in the head. The assassins then sepa- 
rated and fled. Derwan was pursued and slain at the threshold 
of his home ; Shabib distanced his pursuers and escaped. 
Abda'lrahman, after some search, was discovered hidden in a 
corner of the mosque, his sword still in his hand. He was 
dragged forth and brought before the Caliph. The wound of 
Ali was pronounced mortal ; he consigned his murderer to the 
custody of his son Hassan, adding, with his accustomed cle- 
mency, " Let him want for nothing ; and if I die of my wound, 
let him not be tortured — let his death be by a single blow." 
His orders, according to the Persian writers, were strictly com- 
plied with, but the Arabians declare that he was killed by piece- 
meal ; and the Moslems opposed to the sect of Ali hold him up 
as a martyr 

The death of Ali happened within three days after receiving 
his wound. It was in the fortieth year of the Hegira, a.d. 660. 
He was about sixty-three years of age, of which he had reigned 
not quite five. His remains were interred about five miles 
from Cufa ; and, in after times, a magnificent tomb, covered 
by a mosque, with a splendid dome, rose over his grave, and 
it became the site of a city, called Meshed Ali, or, the Se- 
pulchre of Ali, and was enriched and beautified by many Per- 
sian monarchs. 

We make no concluding comments on the noble and generous 
character of Ali, which has been sufficiently illustrated through- 
out all the recorded circumstances of his life. He was one of 
the last and worthiest of the primitive Moslems, who imbibed 
his religious enthusiasm from companionship with the prophet 
himself, and who followed to the last the simplicitv of his 
example. He is honourably spoken of as the first Caliph who 
accorded some protection to Belles-Lettres. He indulged in 
the poetic vein himself, and many of his maxims and proverbs 
are preserved, and have been translated into various languages. 



188 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



His signet bore this inscription: "The kingdom belongs to 
God." One of his savings shows the little value he set upon 
the transitory glories of this world, " Life is but the shadow 
of a cloud — the dream of a sleeper." 

By his first wife. Fatima, the daughter of Mahomet, he had 
three sons — Mohassan, who died young, and Hassan and 
Hosein. who survived him. After her death he had eight other 
wives, and his issue, in all, amounted to fifteen sons and eigh- 
teen daughters. His descendants bv Fatima are distinguished 
among Moslems as descendants of the prophet, and are verv 
numerous, being reckoned both by the male and female line. 
They wear turbans of a peculiar fashion, and twist their hair in 
a different manner from other Moslems. They are considered 
of noble blood, and designated in different countries by various 
titles, such as Sheriffs, Fatimites, and Emirs. The Persians 
venerate Ali as next to the prophet, and solemnise the anniver- 
sary of his martyrdom. The Turks hold him in abhorrence, 
and for a long time in their prayers accompanied his name with 
execrations, but subsequently abated in their violence. It is 
said that Ali was born in the Caaba, or holy temple of Mecca, 
where his mother was suddenly taken in labour, and that he 
was the only person of such distinguished birth. 

CHAPTER XLL 

In his dving moments Ali had refused to nominate a suc- 
cessor, but his eldest son Hassan, then in his 37th year, was 
elected without opposition. He stood high in the favour of the 
people, parti v from his having been a favourite with his grand- 
father, the prophet, to whom, in his features, he bore a strong 
resemblance, but chiefly from the moral excellence of his cha- 
racter, for he was upright, sincere, benevolent, and devout. 
He lacked, however, the energy and courage necessary to a 
sovereigntv where the sceptre was a sword, and he was unfitted 
to command in the civil wars which distracted the empire, for 
he had a horror of shedding Moslem blood. He made a funeral 
speech over his father's remains, showing that his death was 
coincident with great and solemn events. " He was slain," 
said he, " on the same night of the year in which the Koran 
was transmitted to earth; in which Isa (Jesus) was taken up to 
heaven, and in which Joshua, the son of Nun, was killed. By 
Allah ! none of his predecessors surpassed him, nor will he ever 
be equalled bv a successor/' 

Then Kais, a trusty friend of the house of Ali, commenced 



HASSAN. 



189 



the inauguration of the new Caliph. " Stretch forth thy hand,' 
said he to Hassan, " in pledge that thou wilt stand by the book 
of God and the tradition of the apostle, and make war against 
all opposers." Hassan complied with the ceremonial, and was 
proclaimed Caliph, and the people were called upon to acknow- 
ledge allegiance to him, and engage to maintain peace with 
his friends, and war with his enemies. Some of the people, 
however, with the characteristic fickleness of Babylonians, mur- 
mured at the suggestion of further warfare, and said, we want 
no fighting Caliph. 

Had Hassan consulted his own inclination, he would wil- 
lingly have clung to peace, and submitted to the usurpations of 
Moawyah ; but he was surrounded by valiant generals eager for 
action, and stimulated by his brother, Hosein, who inherited the 
daring character of their father. Beside, there were sixty 
thousand fighting men, all ready for the field, and who had 
been on the point of marching into Syria under Ali. Unwil- 
lingly, therefore, he put himself at the head of this force, and 
commenced his march. Receiving intelligence that Moawyah 
had already taken the field, and was advancing to meet him, he 
sent Kais in the advance, with 12,000 light troops, to hold the 
enemy in check, while fye followed with the main army. Kais 
executed his commission with spirit, had a smart skirmish with 
the Syrians, and, having checked them in their advance, halted, 
and put himself in a position 10 await the coming of the 
Caliph. 

Hassan, however, had already become sensible of his incom- 
petency to military command. There was disaffection among 
some of his troops, who were people of Irak, or Babylonia, dis- 
inclined to this war. On reaching the city of Madayn, an 
affray took place among the soldiers, in which one was slain. 
A fierce tumult succeeded. Hassan attempted to interfere", but 
was jostled and wounded in the throng, and obliged to retire 
into the citadel. He had taken refuge from violence, and was 
in danger of treason, for the nephew of the governor of Madayn 
proposed to his uncle, now that he had Hassan within his 
castle, to make him his prisoner, and send him in chains to 
Moawyah. " A curse upon thee for a traitor and an infidel!" 
cried the honest old governor ; " wouldst thou betray the son of 
the daughter of the Apostle of God!" 

The mild-tempered Caliph, who had no ambition of com- 
mand, was already disheartened by its troubles. He saw that 
he had an active and powerful enemy to contend with, and 



190 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



fickleness and treachery among his own people. He sent pro- 
posals to Moawyah, offering to resign the Caliphat to him, on 
condition that he should be allowed to retain the money in the 
public treasury at Cufa, and the revenues of a great estate in 
Persia, and that Moawyah would desist from all evil-speaking 
against his deceased father. Moawyah assented to the two 
former of these stipulations, but would only consent to refrain 
from speaking evil of AH in presence of Hassan ; and, indeed, 
such was the sectarian hatred already engendered against AH, 
that, under the sway of Moawyah, his name was never men- 
tioned in the mosques without a curse, and such continued to 
be the case for several generations under the dominion of the 
house of Ommiah. 

Another condition exacted by Hassan, and which ultimately 
proved fatal to him, was that he should be entitled to resume 
the Caliphat on the death of Moawyah, who was above a score 
of years his senior. These terms being satisfactorily adjusted, 
Hassan abdicated in favour of Moawyah, to the great indigna- 
tion of his brother Hosein, who considered the memory of 
their father AH dishonoured by this arrangement. The people 
of Cufa refused to comply with that condition relative to the 
public treasury ; insisting upon it that it was their property. 
Moawyah, however, allowed Hassan an immense revenue, with 
which he retired with his brother to Medina, to enjoy that ease 
and tranquillity which he so much prized. His life was ex- 
emplary and devout, and the greater part of his revenue was 
expended in acts of charity. 

Moawyah seems to have been well aware of the power of 
gold in making the most distasteful things palatable. An old 
beldame of the lineage of Haschem, and branch of AH, once 
reproached him with having supplanted that family, who were 
his cousins, and with having acted toward them as Pharaoh did 
toward the children of Israel. Moawyah gently replied, " May 
Allah pardon what is past," and inquired what were her wants. 
She said two thousand pieces of gold for her poor relations, 
two thousand as a dower for her children, and two thousand 
as a support for herself. The money was given instantly, and 
the tongue of the clamorous virago was silenced. 

CHAPTER XLII. 
Moawyah now, in the forty-first year of the Hegira, assumed 
legitimate dominion over the whole Moslem empire. The Ka- 
rigites, it is true, a fanatic sect opposed to all regular govern- 



MOAWYAH I. 



191 



ment, spiritual or temporal, excited an insurrection in Syria, 
but Moawyah treated them with more thorough rigour than his 
predecessors, and rinding the Syrians not sufficient to cope with 
them, called in his new subjects, the Babylonians, to show their 
allegiance by rooting out this pestilent sect ; nor did he stay 
his hand, until they were almost exterminated. 

With this Caliph commenced the famous dynasty of the 
Ommiades or Omeyades, so called from Ommiah his great- 
grandfather; a dynasty which lasted for many generations, 
and gave some of the most brilliant names to Arabian history. 
Moawyah himself gave indications of intellectual refinement. 
He surrounded himself with men distinguished in science or 
gifted with poetic talent, and from the Greek provinces and 
islands which he had subdued, the Greek sciences began to 
make their way, and under his protection to exert their first 
influence on the Arabs. 

One of the measures adopted by Moawyah to strengthen 
himself in the Caliphat excited great sensation, and merits 
particular detail. At the time of the celebrated flight of 
Mahomet, Abu Sofian, father of Moawyah, at that time chief 
of the tribe of Koreish, and as yet an inveterate persecutor of 
the prophet, halted one day for refreshment at the house of a 
publican in Tayef. Here he became intoxicated with wine, 
and passed the night in the arms of the wife of a Greek slave, 
named Somyah, who in process of time made him the father of 
a male child. Abu Sofian, ashamed of this amour, would not 
acknowledge the child, but left him to his fate ; hence he re- 
ceived the name of Ziyad Ibn Abihi, that is to say, Ziyad the 
son of nobody. 

The boy, thus deserted, gave early proof of energy and 
talent. When scarce arrived at manhood, he surprised Amru 
Ibn al Aass by his eloquence and spirit in addressing a popu- 
lar assembly. Amru, himself illegitimate, felt a sympathy in 
the vigour of this spurious offset. " By the prophet !" ex- 
claimed he, " if this youth were but of the noble race of 
Koreish, he would drive all the tribes of Arabia before him 
with his staff !" 

Ziyad was appointed cadi or judge, in the reign of Omar, 
and was distinguished by his decisions. On one occasion, 
certain witnesses came before him accusing Mogeirah Ibn Seid, 
a distinguished person of unblemished character, with inconti- 
nence, but failed to establish the charge ; whereupon, Ziyad 



192 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



dismissed the accused with honour, and caused his accusers to 
be scourged with rods for bearing false witness. This act was 
never forgotten by Mogeirah, who, becoming afterwards one of 
the counsellors of the Caliph Ali, induced him to appoint Zivad 
lieutenant or governor of Persia, an arduous post of high trust, 
the duties of which he discharged with great ability. 

After the death of Ali and the abdication of Hassan, events 
which followed hard upon each other, Ziyad, v ho still held 
sway over Persia, hesitated to acknowledge Moawyah as Caliph. 
The latter was alarmed at this show of opposition, fearing lest 
Ziyad should join with the family of Haschem, the kindred of 
the prophet, who desired the elevation of Hosein ; he, therefore, 
sent for Mogeirah, the former patron of Ziyad, and prevailed 
upon him to mediate between them. 3Iogeirah repaired to 
Ziyad in person, bearing a letter of kindness and invitation from 
the Caliph, and prevailed on him to accompany him to Cufa. 
On their arrival Moawyah embraced Ziyad, and received him 
with public demonstrations of respect and affection, as his brother 
by the father's side. The fact of their consanguinity was 
established on the following day, in full assembly, by the publican 
of Tayef, who bore testimony to the intercourse between Abu 
Sofian and the beautiful slave. 

This decision, enforced by the high hand of authority, ele- 
vated Ziyad to the noblest blood of Koreish ; and made him 
eligible to the highest offices ; though, in fact, the strict letter 
of the Mahometan law would have pronounced him the son of 
the Greek slave, who was husband of his mother. 

The family of the Ommiades were indignant at having the 
base-born offspring of a slave thus introduced among them ; 
but Moawyah disregarded these murmurs ; he had probably 
gratified his own feelings of natural affection, and he had firmly 
attached to his interest a man of extensive influence, and one 
of the ablest generals of the age. 

Moawyah found good service in his valiant, though misbe- 
gotten brother. Under the sway of incompetent governors the 
country round Bassora had become overrun with thieves and 
murderers, and disturbed by all kinds of tumults. Ziyad was 
put in the command, and hastened to take possession of his tur- 
bulent post. He found Bassora a complete den of assassins ; 
not a night but was disgraced by riot and bloodshed, so that it 
was unsafe to walk the streets after dark. Ziyad was an elo- 
quent man, and he made a public speech terribly to the point. 



3I0A.WYAH I. 



193 



He gave notice that he meant to rule with the sword, and to 
wreak unsparing punishment on all offenders ; he advised all 
such, therefore, to leave the city. He warned all persons from 
appearing in public after evening prayers, as a patrol would go 
the rounds and put every one to death who should be found in 
the streets. He carried this measure into effect. Two hundred 
persons were put to death by the patrol during the first night, 
only five during the second, and not a drop of blood was shed 
afterwards, nor was there any further tumult or disturbance. 

Moawyah then employed him to effect the same reforms in 
Khorassan, and many other provinces, and the more he had to 
execute, the more was his ability evinced ; until his mere name 
would quell commotion, and awe the most turbulent into quie- 
tude. Yet he was not sanguinary nor cruel, but severely rigid 
in his discipline, and inflexible in the dispensation of justice. It 
was his custom, wherever he held sway, to order the inhabitants 
to leave their doors open at night, with merely a hurdle at the 
entrance to exclude cattle, engaging to replace anything that 
should be stolen ; and so effective was his police that no rob- 
beries were committed. 

Though Ziyad had whole provinces under his government, 
he felt himself not sufficiently employed ; he wrote to the Caliph, 
therefore, complaining, that while his left hand was occupied in 
governing Babylonia, his right hand was idle; and he requested 
the government of Arabia Petrea also, which the Caliph gladly 
granted him, to the great terror of its inhabitants, who dreaded 
so stern a ruler. But the sand of Ziyad was exhausted. He 
was attacked with the plague when on the point of setting out 
for Arabia. The disease made its appearance with an ulcer in 
his hand, and the agony made him deliberate whether to smite 
it off. As it was a case of conscience among predestinarians, 
he consulted a venerable cadi. " If you die," said the old ex- 
pounder of the law, " you go before God without that hand, 
which you have cut off to avoid appearing in his presence. If 
you live, you give a bye-name to your children, who will be 
called the sons of the cripple. I advise you, therefore, to let it 
alone." The intensity of the pain, however, made him deter- 
mine on amputation, but the sight of the fire and cauterising 
irons again deterred him. He was surrounded by the most ex- 
pert physicians, but, say the Arabians, " It was not in their 
power to reverse the sealed decree." He died in the forty-fifth 
year of the Hegira and of his own age, and the people he had 

O 



194 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



governed with so much severity, considered his death a deliver- 
ance. His son Obeidallah, though only twenty-five vears of 
age, was immediately invested by the Caliph with the govern- 
ment of Khorassan, and gave instant proofs of inheriting the spirit 
of his father. On his way to his government he surprised a 
large Turkish force, and put them to such sudden flight, that 
their queen left one of her buskins behind, which fell into the 
hands of her pursuers, and was estimated, from the richness of 
its jewels, at two thousand pieces of gold. 

Zivad left another son named Salem, who was, several years 
afterwards, when but twenty-four years of age, appointed to 
the government of Khorassan, and rendered himself so beloved 
by the people, that upwards of twenty thousand children were 
named after him. He had a third son called Kameil, who was 
distinguished for sagacity and ready wit, and he furthermore 
left from his progeny a dynasty of princes in Arabia Felix, who 
ruled under the denomination of the children of Ziyad. 

The wise measures of Moawyah produced a calm throughout 
his empire, although his throne seemed to be elevated on the 
surface of a volcano. He had reinstated the famous Amru 
Ibn al Aass in the government of Egypt, allowing him to en- 
joy the revenues of that opulent province, ingratitude for his 
having proclaimed him Caliph during his contest with Ali; 
but stipulating that he should maintain the forces stationed 
there. The veteran general did not long enjoy this post, as 
he died in the forty-third year of the Hegira, a.d. 663, as full 
of honours as of years. In him the cause of Islam lost one of 
its wisest men and most illustrious conquerors. " Show me," 
said Omar to him on one occasion, " the sword with which you 
have fought so many battles and slain so many infidels. 5 ' The 
Caliph expressed surprise when he unsheathed an ordinary 
scimetar. " Alas!" said Amru, " the sword, without the arm 
of the master, is no sharper nor heavier than the sword of 
Farezdak the poet." 

Mahomet, whose death preceded that of Amru upwards of 
thirty years, declared that there was no truer Moslem than he 
would prove to be; nor one more steadfast in the faith. Al- 
though Amru passed most of his life in the exercise of arms, 
he found time to cultivate the softer arts which belong to peace. 
We have already shown that he was an orator and a poet. 
The witty lampoons, however, which he wrote against the 
prophet in his youth, he deeply regretted in his declining age. 



310 AWT AH I. 



195 



He sought the company of men of learning and science, and 
delighted in the conversation of philosophers. He has left 
some proverbs distinguished for pithy wisdom, and some beau- 
tiful poetry, and his dying advice to his children was celebrated 
for manly sense and affecting pathos. 

CHAPTER XLIIL 

The Caliph Moawyah, being thoroughly established in his 
sovereignty, was ambitious of foreign conquests, which might 
shed lustre on his name, and obliterate the memory of these 
civil wars. He was desirous, also, of placing his son Yezid in 
a conspicuous light, and gaining for him the affections of the 
people ; for he secretly entertained hopes of making him his 
successor. He determined, therefore, to send him w r ith a great 
force to attempt the conquest of Constantinople, at that time 
the capital of the Greek and Roman empire. This, indeed, 
was a kind of holy war ; for it was fufilling one of the most 
ardent wishes of Mahomet, who had looked forward to the con- 
quest of the proud capital of the Caesars as one of the highest 
triumphs of Islam, and had promised full pardon of all their 
sins to the Moslem army that should achieve it. 

The general command of the army in this expedition was 
given to a veteran named Sophian, and he was accompanied by 
several of those old soldiers of the faith, battered in the wars, 
and almost broken down by years, who had fought by the side 
of the prophet at Beder and Ohod, and were, therefore, 
honoured by the title of " Companions," and who now showed, 
among the ashes of age, the sparks of youthful fire as they 
girded on their swords for this sacred enterprise. 

Hosein, the valiant son of Ali, also accompanied this expe- 
dition ; in which, in fact, the flower of Moslem chivalry en- 
gaged. Great preparations w T ere made by sea and land, and 
sanguine hopes entertained of success ; the Moslem troops were 
numerous and hardy, inured to toil and practised in warfare, 
and they were animated by the certainty of paradise should 
they be victorious. The Greeks, on the other hand, were in a 
state of military decline, and their emperor, Constantine, a 
grandson of Heraclius, disgraced his illustrious name by indo- 
lence and incapacity. 

It is singular, and to be lamented, that of this momentous 
expedition we have very few particulars, notwithstanding that 
it lasted long, and must have been checkered by striking vicis- 

o 2 



196 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



situdes. The Moslem fleet passed without impediment through 
the Dardanelles, and the army disembarked within seven miles 
of Constantinople. For many days they pressed the siege 
with vigour, but the city was strongly garrisoned by fugitive 
troops from various quarters, who had profited by sad experi- 
ence in the defence of fortified towns. The walls were strong 
and high, and the besieged made use cf Greek fire, to the 
Moslems a new and terrific agent of destruction. 

Finding all their efforts in vain, the Moslems consoled them- 
selves by ravaging the neighbouring coasts of Europe and Asia, 
and on the approach of winter retired to the island of Cyzicus, 
about eighty miles from Constantinople, where they had esta- 
blished their head quarters. 

Six years w^ere passed in this unavailing enterprise ; immense 
sums were expended ; thousands of lives were lost by disease ; 
ships and crews, by shipwreck and other disasters, and thousands 
of Moslems w r ere slain, gallantly fighting for paradise under the 
walls of Constantinople. The most renowned of these w^as the 
venerable Abu Ayub, in w^hose house Mahomet had established 
his quarters when he first fled to Medina, and -who had fought 
by the side of the prophet at Beder and Ohod. He won an 
honoured grave ; for though it remained for ages unknown, vet 
nearly eight centuries after this event, when Constantinople 
was conquered by Mahomet II., the spot was revealed in a 
miraculous vision, and consecrated by a mausoleum and mosque, 
which exist to this day, and to which the grand seignors of the 
Ottoman empire repair to be belted with the scimetar on their 
accession to the throne. 

The protracted war with the Greeks revived their military 
ardour, and they assailed the Moslems in their turn. Moawyah 
found the war which he had provoked threatening his own 
security. Other enemies were pressing on him ; age, also, had 
sapped his bodily and mental vigour, and he became so anxious 
for safety and repose, that he in a manner purchased a truce 
of the emperor for thirty years, by agreeing to pay an annual 
tribute of three thousand pieces of gold, fifty slaves, and fifty 
horses of the noblest Arabian blood. 

Yezid, the eldest son of Moawyah, and his secretly -intended 
successor, had failed to establish a renown in this enterprise, 
and if Arabian historians speak true, his ambition led him to a 
perfidious act sufficient to stamp his name with infamy. He 
is accused of instigating the murder of the virtuous Hassan, 



MOAWTAH L 



197 



the son of Ali, who had abdicated in favour of Moawyah, but 
who was to resume the Caliphat on the death of that potentate. 
It is questionable whether Hassan would ever have claimed this 
right, for he was of quiet, retired habits, and preferred the 
security and repose of a private station. He was strong, how- 
ever, in the affection of the people, and to remove out of the 
way so dangerous a rival, Yezid, it is said, prevailed upon one 
of his wives to poison him, promising to marry her in reward 
of her treason. The murder took place in the forty-ninth year 
of the Hegira, a.d. 669, when Hassan was forty-seven years 
of age. In his last agonies, his brother Hosein inquired at 
whose instigation he supposed himself to have been poisoned, 
that he might avenge his death, but Hassan refused to name 
him. " This world/' said he, " is only a long night ; leave 
him alone until he and I shall meet in open daylight, in the 
presence of the Most High." 

Yezid refused to fulfil his promise of taking the murderess to 
wife, alleging that it would be madness to intrust himself to the 
embraces of such a female ; he, however, commuted the engage- 
ment for a large amount in money and jewels. Moawyah is 
accused of either countenancing, or being pleased with a murder, 
which made his son more eligible to the succession, for it is said 
that when he heard of the death of Hassan, u he fell down and 
worshipped." 

Hassan had been somewhat uxorious ; or rather, he had 
numerous wives, and was prone to change them when attracted 
by new beauties. One of them was the daughter of Yezde- 
gird, the last king of the Persians, and she bore him several 
children. He had, altogether, fifteen sons and five daughters, 
and contributed greatly to increase the race of Sheriffs, or 
Fatimites, descendants from the prophet. In his testament he 
left directions that he should be buried by the sepulchre of his 
grandsire Mahomet ; but Ayesha, whose hatred for the family 
of Ali went beyond the grave, declared that the mansion was 
hers, and refused her consent; he was, therefore, interred in 
the common burial-ground of the city. 

Ayesha, herself, died some time afterwards, in the fifty- 
eighth year of the Hegira, having survived the prophet forty- 
seven years. She was often called the Prophetess, and gener- 
ally denominated the Mother of the Faithful, although she 
had never borne any issue to Mahomet, and had emploved her 
widowhood in intrigues to prevent Ali and his children, who 



198 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



were the only progeny of the prophet, from sitting on the 
throne of the Caliphs. All the other wives of Mahomet who 
survived him, passed the remainder of their lives in widow- 
hood ; but none, save her, seem to have been held in especial 
reverence. 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

The conquest of Northern Africa, so auspiciously commenced 
by Abdallah Ibn Saad, had been suspended for a number of 
years by the pressure of other concerns, and particularly by the 
siege of Constantinople, which engrossed a great part of the 
Moslem forces; in the mean time Cyrene had shaken off the 
yoke, and all Cyrenaica was in a state of insurrection, and there 
was danger that the places which had been taken, and the 
posts which had been established by the Arab conquerors, would 
be completely lost. 

The Caliph Moawyah now looked round for some active and 
able general, competent to secure and extend his sway along 
the African seacoast. Such a one he found in Acbah Ibn 
Nafe el Fehri, whom he despatched from Damascus with ten 
thousand horse. Acbah made his way with all speed into 
Africa, his forces augmenting as he proceeded, by the accession 
of barbarian troops. He passed triumphantly through Cyre- 
naica ; laid close siege to the city of Cyrene, and retook it, 
notwithstanding its strong walls and great population ; but in 
the course of the siege many of its ancient and magnificent 
edifices were destroyed. 

Acbah continued his victorious course westward, traversing 
wildernesses sometimes barren and desolate ; sometimes entan- 
gled with forests, and infested by serpents and savage animals, 
until he reached the domains of ancient Carthage, the present 
territory of Tunis. Here he determined to found a city to 
serve as a stronghold, and a place of refuge in the heart 
of these conquered regions. The site chosen was a valley 
closely wooded, and abounding with lions, tigers, and ser- 
pents. The Arabs give a marvellous account of the found- 
ing of the city. Acbah, say they, went forth into the forest, 
and adjured its savage inhabitants. " Hence ! avaunt ! wild 
beasts and serpents! Hence, quit this wood and valley!" 
This solemn adjuration he repeated three several times, on 
three several days, and not a lion, tiger, leopard, nor serpent, 
but departed from the place. 

Others, less poetic, record that he cleared away a forest 



MOAWYAH I. 



199 



which had been a lurking place not merely for wild beasts and 
serpents, but for rebels and barbarous hordes; that he used the 
wood in constructing walls for his new city, and when these 
were completed, planted his lance in the centre, and exclaimed 
to his followers, " This is your Caravan." Such was the origin 
of the city of Kairwan or Caerwan, situated thirty- three 
leagues southeast of Carthage, and twelve from the sea on the 
borders of the great desert. Here Acbah fixed his seat of 
government, erecting mosques and other public edifices, and 
holding all the surrounding country in subjection. 

While Acbah was thus honourably occupied, the Caliph 
Moawyah, little aware of the immense countries embraced in 
these recent conquests, united them with Egypt under one 
command, as if they had been two small provinces, and ap- 
pointed Muhegir Ibn Omm Dinar, one of the Ansari, as emir 
or governor. Muhegir was an ambitious, or rather an envious 
and perfidious man. Scarce had he entered upon his govern- 
ment, when he began to sicken with envy of the brilliant fame 
of Acbah and his vast popularity, not merely with the army, 
but throughout the country ; he accordingly made such un- 
favourable reports of the character and conduct of that general, 
in his letters to the Caliph, that the latter was induced to dis- 
place him from the command of the African army, and recall 
him to Damascus. 

The letter of recall being sent under cover to Muhegir, he 
transmitted it by Muslama Ibn Machlad, one of his generals, 
to Acbah, charging his envoy to proceed with great caution, 
and to treat Acbah with profound deference, lest the troops, 
out of their love for him, should resist the order for his depo- 
sition. Muslama found Acbah in his camp at Cyrene, and 
presented him the Caliph's letter of recall, and a letter from 
Muhegir as governor of the province, letting him know that 
Muslama and the other generals were authorised to arrest him 
should he hesitate to obey the command of the Caliph. 

There was no hesitation on the part of Acbah. He at once 
discerned w T hence the blow proceeded. " Oh, God !" exclaimed 
he, " spare my life until I can vindicate myself from the 
slanders of Muhegir Ibn Omm Dinar." He then departed 
instantly, without even entering his house ; made his way with 
all speed to Damascus, and appeared before Moawyah in the 
presence of his generals and the officers of his court. Ad- 
dressing the Caliph with noble indignation, il I have traversed 



200 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



deserts," said he, " and encountered savage tribes ; I have 
conquered towns and regions, and have brought their infidel 
inhabitants to the knowledge of God and his law. I have 
built mosques and palaces, and fortified our dominion over the 
land, and in reward I have been degraded from my post, and 
summoned hither as a culprit. I appeal to your justice, whether 
I have merited such treatment ?" 

Moawyah felt rebuked by the magnanimous bearing of his 
general, for he was aware that he had been precipitate in con- 
demning him on false accusations. " I am already informed," 
said he, " of the true nature of the case. I now know who is 
Muhegir, and who is Acbah ; return to the command of the 
army, and pursue your glorious career of conquest." 

Although it was not until the succeeding Caliphat that 
Acbah resumed the command in Africa, w T e will anticipate 
dates in order to maintain unbroken the thread of his story. 
In passing through Egypt he deposed Muslama from a com- 
mand, in which he had been placed by Muhegir, and ordered 
him to remain in one of the Egyptian towns a prisoner at 
large. 

He was grieved to perceive the mischief that had been done 
in Africa, during his absence, by Muhegir, who, out of mere 
envy and jealousy, had endeavoured to mar and obliterate all 
traces of his good deeds ; dismantling the cities he had built ; 
destroying his public edifices at Caerwan, and transferring the 
inhabitants to another place. Acbah stripped him of his com- 
mand, placed him in irons, and proceeded to remedy the evils 
he had perpetrated. The population was restored to Caerwan ; 
its edifices were rebuilt, and it rose from its temporary decline 
more prosperous and beautiful than ever. Acbah then left 
Zohair Ibn Kais in command of this metropolis, and resumed 
his career of western conquest, carrying Muhegir with him 
in chains. He crossed the ldngdom of Xumidia, now Algiers, 
and the vast regions of Mauritania, now Morocco, subduing 
their infidel inhabitants, or converting them with the sword, 
until coming to the western shores of Africa, he spurred his 
charger into the waves of the Atlantic, until they rose to his 
saddle girths ; then raising his scimetar towards heaven, " Oh 
Allah!" cried the zealous Moslem, "did not these profound 
waters prevent me, still further would I carry the knowledge of 
thy law, and the reverence of thy holy name !" 

While Acbah was thus urging his victorious way to the 



MOAWl'AH I. 



201 



uttermost bounds of Mauritania, tidings overtook him that the 
Greeks and barbarians were rising in rebellion in his rear ; 
that the mountains were pouring down their legions, and that 
his city of Caerwan was in imminent danger. He had in fact 
incurred the danger against which the late Caliph Omar had 
so often cautioned his too adventurous generals. Turning his 
steps he hastened back, marching at a rapid rate. As he 
passed through Zab or Numidia, he was harassed by a horde 
of Berbers or Moors, headed by Aben Cahina, a native chief of 
daring prowess, who had descended from the fastnesses of the 
mountains, in which he had taken refuge from the invaders. 
This warrior, with his mountain band, hung on the rear of the 
army, picking off stragglers, and often carrying havoc into the 
broken ranks, but never venturing on a pitched battle. He gave 
over his pursuit as they crossed the bounds of Numidia. 

On arriving at Caerwan, Acbah found everything secure ; 
the rebellion having been suppressed by the energy and bravery 
of Zohair, aided by an associate warrior, Omar Ibn AH, of the 
tribe of Koreish. 

Acbah now distributed a part of his army about the neigh- 
bourhood, formed of the residue a flying camp of cavalry, and 
leaving Zohair and his brave associate to maintain the safety of 
the metropolis, returned to scour the land of Zab, and take 
vengeance on the Berber chief, who had harassed and insulted 
him when on the march. 

He proceeded without opposition as far as a place called 
Tehuda, when in some pass or defile he found himself sur- 
rounded by a great host of Greeks and Berbers, led on by the 
mountain chief Aben Cahina. In fact, both Christians and 
Moors, who had so often been in deadly conflict in these very 
regions, had combined to drive these new intruders from the 
land. 

Acbah scanned the number and array of the advancing 
enemy, and saw there was no retreat, and that destruction was 
inevitable. He marshalled his little army of horsemen, how- 
ever, with great calmness, put up the usual prayers, and 
exhorted his men to fior-ht valiantlv. Summoning Muhesir to 
his presence, " This," said he, " is a day of liberty and gain 
for all true Moslems, for it is a day of martyrdom. I would not 
deprive you of so great a chance for paradise." So saying, he 
ordered his chains to be taken off. 

Muhegir thanked him for the favour, and expressed his de- 



202 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



termination to die in the cause of the faith. Acbah then gave 
him arms and a horse, and both of them, drawing their swords, 
broke the scabbards, in token that they would fight until victory 
or death. The battle was desperate, and the carnage terrible. 
Almost all the Moslems fought to the very death, asking no 
quarter. Acbah was one of the last of his devoted band, and 
his corpse was found, scimetar in hand, upon a heap of the 
enemy whom he had slain. 

CHAPTER XLV. 
Moawyah was now far advanced in years, and aware that 
he had not long to live. He sought, therefore, to accomplish a 
measure which he had long contemplated, and which was indi- 
cative of his ambitious character and his pride of family. It 
was to render the Caliphat hereditary, and to perpetuate it in 
his line. For this purpose he openly named his son Yezid as 
his successor, and requested the different provinces to send 
deputies to Damascus to perform the act of fealty to him. The 
nomination of a successor was what the prophet himself had not 
done, and what Abu Beker, Omar, and Othman had, therefore, 
declined to do. The attempt to render the Caliphat hereditary 
was in direct opposition to the public will manifested repeatedly 
in respect to Ali. Yezid, to whom he proposed to bequeath the 
government, was publicly detested; yet, notwithstanding all 
these objections, such influence had Moawyah acquired over the 
public mind, that delegates arrived at Damascus from all parts, 
and gave their hands to Yezid in pledge of future fealty. Thus 
was established the dynasty of the Ommiades, which held the 
Caliphat for nearly a hundred years. There were fourteen 
Caliphs of this haughty line, known as the Pharaohs of the 
house of Omaya (or rather Ommiah). The ambition of rule 
manifested in Moawyah, the founder of the dynasty, continued 
even among his remote descendants, who exercised sovereignty 
nearly four centuries afterwards in Spain. One of them, anxious 
to ascend the throne in a time of turbulence and peril, ex- 
claimed, " Only make me king to-day, and you may kill me 
to-morrow !" 

The character of the Caliph had much changed in the hands 
of Moawyah, and, in the luxurious city of Damascus, assumed 
more and more the state of the Oriental sovereigns which it 
superseded. The frugal simplicity of the Arab, and the stern 
virtues of the primitive disciples of Islam, were softening down, 



MOAWYAH I. 



203 



and disappearing among the voluptuous delights of Syria. 
Moawyah, however, endeavoured to throw over his favourite 
city of Damascus some of the sanctity with which Mecca and 
Medina were invested. For this purpose he sought to transfer 
to it, from Medina, the pulpit of the prophet, as also his 
walking- staff; "for such precious relics of the apostle of God," 
said he, " ought not to remain among the murderers of Oth- 
man." 

The staff was found after great search ; but when the pulpit 
was about to be removed, there occurred so great an eclipse of 
the sun, that the stars became visible. The superstitious Arabs 
considered this a signal of Divine disapprobation, and the pulpit 
was suffered to remain in 3Iedina. 

Feeling his end approaching, Moawyah summoned his son 
Yezid to his presence, and gave advice full of experience and 
wisdom. " Confide in the Arabs," said he, " as the sure foun- 
dation of your power. Prize the Syrians, for they are faithful 
and enterprising, though prone to degenerate when out of 
their own country. Gratify the people of Irak in all their 
demands, for they are restless and turbulent, and would un- 
sheath a hundred thousand scimetars against thee on the least 
provocation." 

" There are four rivals, my son," added he, " on whom thou 
must keep a vigilant eye. The first is Hosein, the son of Ali, 
who has great influence in Irak, but he is upright and sincere, 
and thy own cousin ; treat him, therefore, with clemency, if he 
fall within thy power. The second is Abdallah Ibn Omar; 
but he is a devout man, and will eventually come under alle- 
giance to thee. The third is Abda'bahman ; but he is a man 
of no force of mind, and merely speaks from the dictates of 
others. He is, moreover, incontinent, and a gambler ; he is not 
a rival to be feared. The fourth is Abdallah Ibn Zobeir; he 
unites the craft of the fox with the strength and courage of the 
lion. If he appear against thee, oppose him valiantly; if he 
offer peace, accept it, and spare the blood of thy people. If he 
fall within your power, cut him to pieces !" 

Moawyah was gathered to his fathers in the sixtieth year of 
the Hegira, a.d. 679, at the age of seventy, or, as some say, 
seventy-five years, of which he had reigned nearly twenty. He 
was interred in Damascus, which he had made the capital of the 
Moslem empire, and which continued to be so during the dynasty 
of the Ommiades. The inscription of his signet was, " Every 



204 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



deed hath its meed;" or, according to others, " All power rests 
with God." 

Though several circumstances in his reign savour of crafty, 
and even treacherous policy, yet he bears a high name in Mos- 
lem history. His courage was undoubted, and of a generous 
kind ; for though fierce in combat he was clement in victory. 
He prided himself greatly upon being of the tribe of Koreish, 
and was highly aristocratical before he attained to sovereign 
power ; yet he was affable and accessible at all times, and made 
himself popular among his people. His ambition was tempered 
with some considerations of justice. He assumed the throne, it 
is true, by the aid of the scimetar, without regular election ; but 
he subsequently bought off the right of his rival Hassan, the 
legitimate Caliph ; and transcended munificently all the stipu- 
lations of his purchase, presenting him, at one time, with four 
million pieces of gold. One almost regards with incredulity 
the stories of immense sums passing from hand to hand among 
these Arab conquerors, as freely as bags of dates in their native 
deserts ; but it must be recollected they had the plundering of 
the rich empires of the East, and as yet were flush with the spoils 
of recent conquests. 

The liberality of Moawyah is extolled as being beyond all 
bounds; one instance on record of it, however, savours of policy. 
He gave Ayesha a bracelet valued at a hundred thousand pieces 
of gold, that had formerly, perhaps, sparkled on the arm of some 
Semiramis ; but Ayesha, he knew, was a potent friend and a 
dangerous enemy. 

Moawyah was sensible to the charms of poetry, if we may 
judge from the following anecdotes: 

A robber, who had been condemned by the Cadi to have his 
head cut off, appealed to the Caliph in a copy of verses, plead- 
ing the poverty and want by which he had been driven. Touched 
by the poetry, Moawyah reversed the sentence, and gave the 
poet a purse of gold, that he might have no plea of necessity 
for repeating the crime. 

Another instance was that of a young Arab, who had mar- 
ried a beautiful damsel, of whom he was so enamoured, that he 
lavished all his fortune upon her. The governor of Cufa hap- 
pening to see her, was so struck with her beauty, that he took 
her from the youth by force. The latter made his complaint to 
the Caliph in verse, poured forth with Arab eloquence, and with 
all the passion of a lover, praying redress or death. Moawyah, 



YEZID. 



205 



as before, was moved by the poetic appeal, and sent orders to 
the governor of Cufa to restore the wife to her husband. The 
governor, infatuated with her charms, entreated the Caliph to 
let him have the enjoyment of her for one year, and then to 
take his head. The curiosity of the Caliph was awakened by 
this amorous contest, and he caused the female to be sent to 
him. Struck with her ravishing beauty, with the grace of her 
deportment, and the eloquence of her expressions, he could not 
restrain his admiration ; and in the excitement of the moment 
told her to choose between the young Arab, the governor of 
Cufa, and himself. She acknowledged the honour proffered by 
the Caliph to be utterly beyond her merit; but avowed that 
affection and duty still inclined her to her husband. Her 
modesty and virtue delighted Moawyah even more than her 
beauty; he restored her to her husband, and enriched them both 
with princely munificence. 

CHAPTER XL VI. 
Yezid, the son of Moawyah, succeeded to the Caliphat with- 
out the ceremony of an election. His inauguration took place 
in the new moon of the month Rajeb, in the sixtieth year of the 
Hegira ; coincident with the seventh day of April, in the year 
of our Lord, 680. He was thirty-four years of age, and is de- 
scribed as tall and thin; with a ruddy countenance pitted with 
the small -pox, black eyes, curled hair, and a comely beard. He 
was not deficient in talent, and possessed the popular gift of 
poetry. The effect of his residence among the luxuries and re- 
finements of Syria, was evinced in a fondness for silken raiment 
and the delights of music : but he was stigmatised as base- 
spirited, sordid, and covetous ; grossly sensual, and scandalously 
intemperate. 

Notwithstanding all this, he was readily acknowledged as 
Caliph throughout the Moslem empire, excepting by Mecca, 
Medina, and some cities of Babylonia. His first aim was to 
secure undisputed possession of the Caliphat. The only com- 
petitors from whom he had danger to apprehend, were Hosein, 
the son of Ali, and Abdallah, the son of Zobeir. They were 
both at Medina, and he sent orders to Waled Ibn Otbah, the 
governor of that city, to exact from them an oath of fealty. 
Waled, who was of an undecided character, consulted Merwan 
Ibn Hakem, formerly secretary of Othman, and suspected of 
forging the letter which effected the ruin of that Caliph. He 



206 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



was in fact one of the most crafty, as well as able men of the 
age. His advice to the governor was to summon Hosein and 
Abdallah to his presence, before they should hear of the death 
of Moawyah, and concert any measures of opposition ; then to 
tender to them the oath of fealty to Yezid, and, should they 
refuse, to smite off their heads. 

Hosein and Abdallah discovered the plot in time to effect 
their escape with their families to Mecca ; where they declared 
themselves openly in opposition to Yezid. In a little while Ho- 
sein received secret messages from the people of Cufa, inviting 
him to their city, assuring him not merely of protection, but of 
joyful homage as the son of Ali, the legitimate successor of 
the prophet. He had only, they said, to show himself in their 
city, and all Babylonia would rise in arms in his favour. 

Hosein sent his cousin. Muslim Ibn Okail, to ascertain the 
truth of these representations, and to foment the spirit of insur- 
rection should it really exist among the people of Cufa. Mus- 
lim made his way, almost unattended, and with great peril 
and hardship across the deserts of Irak. On arriving at Cufa. 
he was well received by the party of Hosein ; they assured him 
that eighteen thousand men were ready to sacrifice their blood 
and treasure in casting down the usurper and upholding the 
legitimate Caliph. Every day augmented the number of ap- 
parent zealots in the cause, until it amounted to one hundred 
and forty thousand. Of all this, Muslim sent repeated accounts 
to Hosein ; urging him to come on, and assuring him that the 
conspiracy had been carried on with such secrecy, that Nu'man 
Ibn Baschir, the governor of Cufa, had no suspicion of it. 

But though the conspiracy had escaped the vigilance of 
Nu'man, intimation of it had reached the Caliph Yezid at Da- 
mascus, who sent instant orders to Obeid'allah, the emir of 
Bassora, to repair with all speed to Cufa, displace its negligent 
governor, and take that place likewise under his command. 

Obeid'allah was the son of Ziyad, and inherited all the 
energy of his father. Aware that the moment was critical, he 
set off from Bassora with about a score of fleet horsemen. The 
people of Cufa were on the look-out for the arrival of Hosein, 
which was daily expected, when Obeid'allah rode into the city 
in the twilight at the head of his troopers. He wore a black 
turban, as was the custom likewise with Hosein. The popu- 
lace crowded round him, hailing the supposed grandson of the 
prophet. 



YEZID. 



207 



" Stand off!" cried the horsemen, fiercely. " It is the emir 
Obeid'allah." 

The crowd shrank back abashed and disappointed, and the 
emir rode on to the castle. The popular chagrin increased 
when it was known that he had command of the province ; for 
he was reputed a second Ziyad in energy and decision. His 
measures soon proved his claims to that character. He dis- 
covered and disconcerted the plans of the conspirators ; drove 
Muslim to a premature outbreak ; dispersed his hasty levy, and 
took him prisoner. The latter shed bitter tears on his capture ; 
not on his own account, but on the account of Hosein, whom 
he feared his letters and sanguine representations had involved 
in ruin by inducing him to come on to Cufa. The head of 
Muslim was struck off and sent to the Caliph. 

His letters had indeed produced the dreaded effect. On re- 
ceiving them Hosein prepared to comply with the earnest in- 
vitation of the people of Cufa. It was in vain his friends re- 
minded him of the proverbial faithlessness of these people ; it 
was in vain they urged him to wait until they had committed 
themselves by openly taking the field. It was in vain that his 
near relative Abdallah Ibn Abbas urged him, at least, to leave the 
females of his family at Mecca, lest he should be massacred in 
the midst of them, like the Caliph Othman. Hosein, in the 
true spirit of a Moslem and predestinarian, declared he would 
leave the event to God ; and accordingly set out with his wives 
and children, and a number of his relatives, escorted by a hand- 
ful of Arab troops. 

Arrived in the confines of Babylonia, he was met by a body 
of a thousand horse, led on by Harro, an Arab of the tribe of 
Temimah. He at first supposed them to be a detachment of 
his partisans sent to meet him, but was soon informed by Harro, 
that he came from the emir Obeid'allah to conduct him and 
all the people with him to Cufa. 

Hosein haughtily refused to submit to the emir's orders ; and 
represented that he came in peace, invited by the inhabitants 
of Cufa, as the rightful Caliph. He set forth, at the same 
time, the justice of his claims, and endeavoured to enlist Harro 
in his cause, but the latter, though in no wise hostile to him, 
avoided committing himself, and urged him to proceed quietly 
to Cufa under his escort. 

While they were yet discoursing, four horsemen rode up ac- 
companied by a guide. One of these named Thirmah was known 
to Hosein, and was reluctantly permitted by Harro to converse 



208 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOXET. 



with him apart. Hosein inquired about the situation of things 
at Cufa. " The nobles," replied the other, " are now against 
you to a man ; some of the common people are still with you, 
by to-morrow, however, not a scimetar but will be unsheathed 
against you." 

Hosein inquired about Kais, a messenger whom he had sent 
in advance to apprise his adherents of his approach. He had 
been seized on suspicion ; ordered as a test by Obeid'allah to 
curse Hosein and his father Ali, and on his refusing had been 
thrown headlong from the top of the citadel. 

Hosein shed tears at hearing the fate of his faithful messen- 
ger. " There be some," said he, in the words of the Koran, 
" who are already dead, and some who living expect death. 
Let their mansions, Oh God, be in the gardens of paradise, and 
receive us with them to thy mercy." 

Thirmah represented to Hosein that his handful of followers 
would be of no avail against the host prepared to oppose him in 
the plains of Cufa, and offered to conduct him to the impreg- 
nable mountains of Aja, in the province of Naja, where ten 
thousand men of the tribe of Tay might soon be assembled to 
defend him. He declined his advice, however, and advanced 
towards Kadesia, the place famous for the victory over the 
Persians. Harro and his cavalry kept pace with him, w r atching 
every movement, but offering no molestation. The mind of 
Hosein, however, was darkened by gloomy forebodings. A 
stupor at times hung over his faculties as he rode slowly along ; 
he appeared to be haunted with a presentiment of death. " We 
belong to God, and to God we must return," exclaimed he, as he 
roused himself at one time from a dream or reverie. He had 
beheld in his fantasy, a horseman who had addressed him in 
warning words, " men travel in the night, and their destiny 
travels in the night to meet them." This he pronounced a 
messenger of death. 

In this dubious and desponding mood he was brought to a 
halt, near the banks of the Euphrates, by the appearance of 
four thousand men, in hostile array, commanded by Amar Ibn 
Saad. These, likewise, had been sent out by the emir Obeid'- 
allah, who was full of uneasiness lest there should be some 
popular movement in favour of Hosein. The latter, however, 
was painfully convinced by this repeated appearance of hostile 
troops, without any armament in his favour, that the fickle 
people of Cufa were faithless to him. He held a parley with 
Amar, who was a pious and good man, and had ocme out very 



YEZID. 



209 



unwillingly against a descendant of the prophet, stated to him 
the manner in which he had been deceived by the people 
of Cufa, and now offered to return to Mecca. Amar despatched 
a fleet messenger to apprise the emir of this favourable offer, 
hoping to be excused from using violence against Hosein. 
Obeid'allah wrote in reply : £i Get between him and the Eu- 
phrates ; cut him off from the water as he did Othman ; force 
him to acknowledge allegiance to Yezid, and then we will treat 
of terms. 

Amar obeyed these orders with reluctance, and the little 
camp of Hosein suffered the extremities of thirst. Still he 
could not be brought to acknowledge Yezid as Caliph. He 
now offered three things, either to go to Damascus and nego- 
tiate matters personally with Yezid — to return into Arabia — or 
to repair to some frontier post in Khorassan and fight against 
the Turks. These terms were likewise transmitted by Amar to 
Obeid'allah. 

The emir was exasperated at these delays, which he con- 
sidered as intended to gain time for tampering with the public 
feeling. His next letter to Amar was brief and explicit. " If 
Hosein and his men submit and take the oath of allegiance, 
treat them kindly ; if they refuse, slay them — ride over them — 
trample them under the feet of thy horses !" This letter was 
sent by Shamar, a warrior of note, and of a fierce spirit. He had 
private instructions. " If Amar fail to do as I have ordered, 
strike off his head and take command of his troops." He was 
furnished also with a letter of protection, and passports for four 
of the sons of Ali, who had accompanied their brother Hosein. 

Amar, on receiving the letter of the emir, had another parley 
with Hosein. He found him in front of his tent conversing 
with his brother Al Abbas, just after the hour of evening 
prayer, and made known to him the peremptory demand of the 
emir and its alternative. He also produced the letter of pro- 
tection and the passports for his brothers, but they refused to 
accept them. 

Hosein obtained a truce until the morning to consider the 
demand of the emir ; but his mind was already made up. He 
saw that all hope of honourable terms was vain, and he resolved 
to die. 

After the departure of Amar., he remained seated alone at 
the door of his tent, leaning on his sword, lost in gloomy cogi- 
tation on the fate of the coming day. A heaviness again came 

p 



210 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



over him, with the same kind of portentous fantasies that he 
had already experienced. The approach of his favourite sister, 
Zenaib, roused him. He regarded her with mournful signifi- 
cance. " I have just seen," said he, " in a dream, our grand- 
sire the prophet, and he said, 6 Thou wilt soon be with me in 
paradise.' " 

The boding mind of Zenaib interpreted the portent. " Woe 
unto us and our family," cried she, smiting her breast; "our 
mother Fatima is dead, and our father Ali and our brother 
Hassan ! Alas for the desolation of the past and the destruc- 
tion that is to come !" So saying, her grief overcame her, and 
she fell into a swoon. Hosein raised her tenderly, sprinkled 
water in her face, and restored her to consciousness. He en- 
treated her to rely with confidence on God, reminding her that 
all the people of the earth must die, and everything that exists 
must perish, but that God, who created them, would restore 
them and take them to himself. " My father, and my mother, 
and my brother," said he, "were better than I, yet they died, 
and every Moslem has had an example in the death of the 
apostle of God." Taking her then by the hand, he led her 
into the tent, charging her, in case of his death, not to give way 
thus to immoderate sorrow. 

He next addressed his friends and followers. " These troops 
by whom we are surrounded," said he, u seek no life but mine, 
and will be contented with my death. Tarry not with me, 
therefore, to your destruction, but leave me to my fate." 

" God forbid," cried Al Abbas, "that we should survive your 
fall;" and his words were echoed by the rest. 

Seeing his little band thus determined to share his desperate 
fortunes, Hosein prepared to sell their lives dear, and make 
their deaths a memorable sacrifice. By his orders all the tents 
were disposed in two lines, and the cords interwoven so as 
to form barriers on both sides of the camp, while a deep trench 
in the rear was filled with wood, to be set on fire in case of 
attack. It was assailable, therefore, only in front. This done, 
the devoted band, conscious that the next day was to be their 
last, passed the night in prayer; while a troop of the enemy's 
horse kept riding round to prevent their escape. 

When the morning dawned, Hosein prepared for battle. 
His whole force amounted only to two-score foot soldiers, and 
two -and- thirty horse; but all were animated with the spirit 
of martyrs. Hosein and several of his chief men washed, 



YEZID. 



211 



anointed, and perfumed themselves; "for in a little while," said 
they, " we shall be with the blackeyed Houris of Paridise." 

His steadfastness of soul, however, was shaken by the loud 
lamentations of his sisters and daughters, and the thought 
of the exposed and desolate state in which his death would 
leave them. He called to mind, too, the advice which he had 
neglected of Abdallah Ibn Abbas, to leave his women in safety 
at Mecca. "God will reward thee, Abdallah!" exclaimed he, 
in the fulness of his feelings. 

A squadron of thirty horse, headed by Harro, now wheeled 
up, but they came as friends and allies. Harro repented him 
of having given the first check to Hosein, and now came in 
atonement to fight and die for him. " Alas, for you, men of 
Cufa!" cried he, as Amar and his troops approached; "you 
have invited the descendant of the prophet to your city, and 
now you come to fight against him. You have cut off from 
him and his family the waters of the Euphrates, which are free 
even to infidels and the beasts of the field, and have shut him 
up like a lion in the toils." 

Amar began to justify himself, and to plead the orders of the 
emir; but the fierce Shamar cut short all parley by letting fly 
an arrow into the camp of Hosein; calling all to witness that 
he struck the first blow. A skirmish ensued, but the men of 
Hosein kept within their camp, where they could only be 
reached by the archers. From time to time there were single 
combats, in defiance, as was customary with the Arabs. In 
these the greatest loss was on the side of the enemy, for 
Hosein's men fought with the desperation of men resolved on 
death. 

Amar now made a general assault, but the camp being open 
only in front, was successfully defended. Shamar and his fol- 
lowers attempted to pull down the tents, but met with vigorous 
resistance. He thrust his lance through the tent of Hosein, 
and called for fire to burn it. The women ran out shrieking. 
"The fire of Jehennam be thy portion!" cried Hosein, "wouldst 
thou destroy my family?" 

Even the savage Shamar stayed his hand at the sight of 
defenceless women, and he and his band drew off, with the 
loss of several of their number. 

Both parties desisted from the fight at the hour of noontide 
prayer ; and Hosein put up the prayer of Fear, which is only 
used in time of extremity. 

p 2 



212 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



When the prayers were over the enemy renewed the assault, 
but chiefly with arrows from a distance. The faithful followers 
of Hosein were picked off one by one, until he was left almost 
alone ; yet no one ventured to close upon him. An arrow from 
a distance pierced his little son Abdallah, whom he had upon 
his knee. Hosein caught his blood in the hollow of his hand 
and threw it toward heaven. " Oh God," exclaimed he, " if 
thou withholdest help from us, at least take vengeance on the 
wicked for this innocent blood." 

His nephew, a beautiful child with jewels in his ears, was 
likewise wounded in his arms. u Allah will receive thee, my 
child," said Hosein ; " thou wilt soon be with thy forefathers 
in paradise." 

At this moment Zeinab rushed forth, imprecating the ven- 
geance of Heaven upon the murderers of her family. Her 
voice was overpowered by the oaths and curses of Shamar, who 
closed with his men upon Hosein. The latter fought de- 
sperately, and laid many dead around him, but his strength 
was failing him; it became a massacre rather than a fight; he 
sank to the earth, and was stripped ere life was extinct. Thirty 
wounds were counted in his body, and four-and-thirty bruises. 
His head was then cut off, to be sent to Obeid'allah, and Sha- 
mar, with his troops, rode forward and backward over the body, 
as he had been ordered, until it was trampled into the earth. 

Seventy-two followers of Hosein were slain in this mas- 
sacre; seventeen of whom were descendants from Fatima. 
Eighty-eight of the enemy were killed, and a great number 
wounded. All the arms and furniture of Hosein and his 
family were taken as lawful spoils, although against the com- 
mand of Amar. 

Shamar despatched one of his troopers to bear the head of 
Hosein to the emir Obeid'allah. He rode with all speed, but 
arrived at Cufa after the gates of the castle were closed. Tak- 
ing the gory trophy to his own house until morning, he showed 
it with triumph to his wife, but she shrank from him with 
horror, as one guilty of the greatest outrage to the family of 
the prophet, and from that time forward renounced all inter- 
course with him. 

When the head was presented to Obeid'allah, he smote it 
on the mouth with his staff. A venerable Arab present was 
shocked at his impiety. " By Allah !" exclaimed he, " I have 
seen those lips pressed by the sacred lips of the prophet!" 



YEZID. 



213 



As Obeid'allah went forth from the citadel, he beheld several 
women, meanly attired and seated disconsolately on the ground 
at the threshold. He had to demand three times who they 
were before he was told that it was Zeinab, sister of Hosein, 
and her maidens. " Allah be praised," cried he with ungener- 
ous exultation, " who has brought this proud woman to shame, 
and wrought death upon her family." u Allah be praised," 
retorted Zeinab haughtily, " who hath glorified our family by 
his holy apostle Mahomet. As to my kindred, death was 
decreed to them, and they have gone to their resting-place ; 
but God will bring you and them together, and will judge be- 
tween you." 

The wrath of the emir was inflamed by this reply, and his 
friends, fearful he might be provoked to an act of violence, re- 
minded him that she was a woman, and unworthy of his anger. 

" Enough," cried he, " let her revile ; Allah has given my 
soul full satisfaction in the death of her brother, and the ruin 
of her rebellious race." 

" True !" replied Zeinab, u you have indeed destroyed our 
men, and cut us up root and branch. If that be any satisfac- 
tion to your soul, you have it." 

The emir looked at her with surprise. 64 Thou art indeed," 
said he, "a worthy descendant of Ali, w r ho was a poet and a 
man of courage." 

"Courage," replied Zeinab, "is not a woman's attribute; 
but what my heart dictates, my tongue shall utter." 

The emir cast his eyes on Ali, the son of Hosein, a youth 
just approaching manhood, and ordered him to be beheaded. 
The proud heart of Zeinab now gave way. Bursting into 
tears she flung her arms round her nephew. u Hast thou not 
drunk deep enough of the blood of our family ?" cried she to 
Obeid'allah ; and dost thou thirst for the blood of this youth ! 
Take mine too with it, and let me die with him." 

The emir grazed on her ao^ain, and with greater astonish - 

© © " © 

ment ; he mused for awhile, debating with himself, for he was 
disposed to slay the lad ; but was moved by the tenderness of 
Zeinab. At length his better feelings prevailed, and the life 
of Ali was spared. 

The head of Hosein was transmitted to the Caliph Yezid, at 
Damascus, in charge of the savage-hearted Shamar ; and with 
it were sent Zeinab and her women, and the youth Ali. The 
latter had a chain round his neck, but the youth carried himself 
proudly, and would never vouchsafe a word to his conductors. 



214 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



When Shamar presented the head with the greetings of 
Obeid'allah, the Caliph shed tears, for he recalled the dying 
counsel of his father with respect to the son of Ali. " Oh, 
Hosein !" ejaculated he, " hadst thou fallen into my hands thou 
wouldst not have been slain." Then giving vent to his indig- 
nation against the absent Obeid'allah, 1 4 The curse of God," 
exclaimed he, " be upon the son of Somyah."* 

He had been urged by one of his courtiers to kill Ali, and 
extinguish the whole generation of Hosein, but milder counsels 
prevailed. When the women and children were brought before 
him, in presence of the Syrian nobility, he v/as shocked at their 
mean attire, and again uttered a malediction on Obeid'allah. 
In conversing with Zeinab, he spoke with disparagement of her 
father Ali and her brother Hosein, but the proud heart of this 
intrepid woman again rose to her lips, and she replied with a 
noble scorn and just invective, that shamed him to silence. 

Yezid now had Zeinab and the other females of the family 
of Hosein treated with proper respect ; baths were provided 
for them, and apparel suited to their rank ; they w T ere enter- 
tained in his palace, and the widowed wives of his father Moa- 
wyah came and kept them company, and joined with them in 
mourning for Hosein. Yezid acted also with great kindness 
toward Ali and Amru, the sons of Hosein, taking them with 
him in his walks. Amru was as yet a mere child. Yezid 
asked him one day jestingly, " Wilt thou fight with my son 
Khaled ?" The urchin's eye flashed fire. " Give him a knife, * 
cried he, "and give me one!" "Beware of this child," said 
a crafty old courtier who stood by, and who was an enemy to 
the house of Ali. " Beware of this child, depend upon it, one 
serpent is the parent of another." 

After a time, when the family of Hosein wished to depart 
for Medina, Yezid furnished them abundantly with every com- 
fort for the journey, and a safe convoy under a careful officer, 
who treated them with all due deference. When their journey 
was accomplished, Zeinab and Fatima, the young daughter of 
Hosein, would have presented their conductor with some of 
their jewels, but the worthy Syrian declined their offer. " Had 
I acted for reward," said he, " less than these jewels would 
have sufficed ; but what I have done was for the love of God, 
and for the sake of your relationship to the prophet." 

The Persians hold the memory of Hosein in great venera- 

* A sneer at Obeid'allah's illegitimate descent from Somyah, the 
wife of a Greek slave. 



YEZID. 



215 



tion, entitling him Shahed or the Martyr, and Seyejed or 
Lord; and he and his lineal descendants for nine generations 
are enrolled among the twelve Imams or Pontiffs of the Per- 
sian creed. The anniversary of his martyrdom is called Rus 
Hosein (the day of Hosein), and is kept with great solemnity. 
A splendid monument was erected in after years on the spot 
where he fell, and was called in Arabic Meshed Hosein, The 
Sepulchre of Hosein. The Shyites, or sectaries of Ali, relate 
divers prodigies as having signalised his martyrdom. The 
sun withdrew his light, the stars twinkled at noonday and 
clashed against each other, and the clouds rained showers of 
blood. A supernatural light beamed from the head of the 
martyr, and a flock of white birds hovered around it. These 
miracles, however, are all stoutly denied by the sect of Mos- 
lems called Sonnites, who hold Ali and his race in abomi- 
nation. 

CHAPTER XL VII. 

The death of Hosein had removed one formidable rival of 
Yezid ; but gave strength to the claims of another, who was 
scarcely less popular. This was Abdallah, the son of Zobeir; 
honoured for his devotion to the faith : beloved for the amenity 
of his manners, and of such adroit policy, that he soon man- 
aged to be proclaimed Caliph, by the partisans of the house of 
Haschem, and a large portion of the people of Medina and 
Mecca. The martyrdom, as he termed it, of Hosein, furnished 
him a theme for public harangues, with which, after his inau- 
guration, he sought to sway the popular feelings. He called 
to mind the virtues of that grandson of the prophet, his pious 
watchings, fastings, and prayers ; the perfidy of the people of 
Cufa, to which he had fallen a victim; the lofty heroism of his 
latter moments, r and the savage atrocities which had accom- 
panied his murder. The public mind was heated by these 
speeches; the enthusiasm awakened for the memory of Hosein 
was extended to his politic eulogist. An Egyptian soothsayer, 
famed for skill in divination, and who had studied the prophet 
Daniel, declared that Abdallah would live and die a king ; and 
this operated powerfully in his favour among the superstitious 
Arabs, so that his party rapidly increased in numbers. 

The Caliph Yezid, although almost all the provinces of the 
empire were still in allegiance to him, was alarmed at the 
movements of this new rival. He affected, however, to regard 
him with contempt, and sent a silver collar to Merwan Ibn 



216 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



Hakem, then governor of Medina, directing him to put it 
round the neck of the "mock Caliph," should he persist in his 
folly, and send him in chains to Damascus. Merwan, however, 
who was of a wily character himself, and aware of the craft 
and courage of Abdallah, and his growing popularity in Me- 
dina, evaded the execution of the order. 

Yezid had no better success in his endeavours to crush the 
rising power of Abdallah at Mecca. In vain he repeatedly 
changed his governors of that city; each in his turn was out- 
witted by the superior sagacity of Abdallah, or overawed by 
the turbulent discontent of the people. 

Various negotiations took place between Yezid and these 
disaffected cities, and despatches were sent from the latter to 
Damascus ; but these only rendered the schism in the Caliphat 
more threatening. The deputies brought back accounts of the 
dissolute life of Yezid, which shocked the pious and abstemious 
Arabs of the sacred cities. They represented him as destitute 
of religion and morality; neglectful of the hours of worship; 
a gross sensualist, addicted to wine and banqueting ; an effe- 
minate voluptuary, passing his time amid singing and dancing 
women, listening to music and loose minstrelsy, and surrounded 
by dogs and eunuchs. 

The contempt and loathing caused by their representations 
were fomented by the partisans of Abdallah Ibn Zobeir, and 
extended to the whole house of Ommiah, of which Yezid was a 
member. Open rebellion at length broke out in a manner 
characteristic of the Arabs. During an assemblage in the 
mosque of Medina, one of the conspirators threw his turban on 
the ground, exclaiming, " I cast off Yezid as I cast off this 
turban." Another seconded him with the exclamation, "I cast 
off Yezid as I cast off this shoe." Heaps of shoes and turbans 
soon showed that the feeling was unanimous. 

The next move w r as to banish the house of Ommiah and all 
its dependents; but these, to the number of a thousand, took 
refuge in the palace of Merwan Ibn Hakem, the governor, who 
was of that race. Here they were closely besieged, and sent 
off to Yezid, imploring instant succour. 

It was with difficulty Yezid could prevail upon any of his 
generals to engage in so unpopular a cause. Meslem Ibn Ok- 
bah, a stout-hearted, but infirm old general, at length under- 
took it; but observed, with contempt, that a thousand men who 
suffered themselves to be cooped up like fowls, without fighting, 
scarce deserved assistance. 



YEZID. 



217 



When the troops were about to depart, Yezid rode about 
among them, his scimetar by his side, and an Arab bow across 
his shoulder, calling upon them to show their loyalty and 
courage. His instructions to Meslem were to summon the city 
of Medina, three days in succession, before he made any as- 
sault ; if it refused to surrender, he should, after taking it, give 
it up to three days' pillage. He charged him, however, to be 
careful of the safety of the youth Ali, son of Hosein, who was 
in the city, but had taken no part in the rebellion . 

Meslem departed at the head of twelve thousand horse and 
five thousand foot. When he arrived before Medina he found 
a huge trench digged round the city, and great preparations 
made for defence. On three successive days he summoned it 
to surrender, and on each day received a refusal. On the 
fourth day he attacked it by storm, making his assault on the 
east side, that the besieged might be blinded by the rising sun. 
The city held out until most of its prime leaders were slain; 
it would then have capitulated, but the stern old general com- 
pelled an unconditional surrender. 

Meslem entered the city sword in hand, and sent instantly 
for Ali, the youthful son of Hosein, whom he placed on his 
own camel, and furnished with a trusty guard. His next care 
was to release the thousand men of the house of Ommiah from 
confinement, lest they should be involved in the sacking of the 
city ; this done, he abandoned the place for three days to his 
soldiery, and a scene of slaughter, violence, and rapine ensued, 
too horrible to be detailed. Those of the inhabitants who sur- 
vived the massacre were compelled to submit as slaves and vas- 
sals of Yezid. The rigid severity of old Meslem, which far 
surpassed his orders, gained him the appellation of Musreph, 
or the Extortionate. His memory has ever been held in odium 
by the Moslems, for the outrages which he permitted in this 
sacred city. This capture of Medina took place at night, in 
the sixty-third year of the Hegira, and the year 682 of the 
Christian era. 

The old general now marched on to wreak the same fate 
upon Mecca ; but his fires were burnt out; he died on the 
march of fatigue, infirmity, and old age, and the command de- 
volved on a Syrian general, named Hozein Ibn Thamir. The 
latter led his force up to the walls of Mecca, where Abdallah 
Ibn Zobeir commanded in person. For the space of forty 
days he besieged the city: battering the walls with engines 



218 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



brought from Syria. In the course of the siege a part of the 
Caaba was beaten down, and the rest burnt. Some ascribe 
the fire to the engines of the besiegers; others affirm that 
Abdallah, hearing a shouting in the night, caused a flaming 
brand to be elevated on a lance to discover the cause, and 
that the fire communicated to the veil which covered the 
edifice. 

Mecca was reduced to extremity, and the inhabitants began 
to dread the fate of Medina, when a swift messenger brought 
to Abdallah Ibn Zobeir the joyful tidings of the death of Yezid. 
He immediately mounted the walls and demanded of the be- 
siegers why they continued to fight, seeing that their master 
Yezid was no more. They regarded his words as a mere sub- 
terfuge, and continued the attack with increased vigour. The 
intelligence, however, was speedily confirmed. 

Hozein now held a conference with Abdallah; he expressed 
an ardent desire to put an end to all further effusion of kindred 
blood; and proffered the allegiance of himself and his army, 
in which were some of the leading men of Syria. Abdallah, 
for once, was too cautious for his own good. He shrank from 
trusting himself with Hozein and his army; he permitted them, 
however, at their earnest request, to walk in religious procession 
round the ruins of the Caaba, of course without arms ; after 
which Hozein and his host departed on the march home ward ; 
and the late beleaguered family of Ommiah accompanied them 
to Syria. 

The death of the Caliph Yezid took place at Hawwarin, in 
Syria, in the sixty-fourth year of the Hegira, a.d. 683, in the 
thirty-ninth year of his age, after a reign of three years and 
six months. He was cut down in the flower of his days, say 
the Moslem writers, in consequence of his impiety in ordering 
the sacking of Medina, the burial-place of the prophet ; for 
the latter had predicted, " Whoever injure th Medina shall melt 
away even as salt melteth in water." The Persian waiters also, 
sectarians of Ali, hold the memory of Yezid in abhorrence, 
charging him with the deaths of Hassan and Hosein, and 
accompany his name with the imprecation, u May he be ac- 
cursed of God." 

CHAPTER XL VIII. 
Ox the death of Yezid, his son, Moawyah II., was proclaimed 
at Damascus, being the third Caliph of the house of Ommiah. 
He was in the twenty-first year of his age, feeble in mind and 



MOAWYAH II. 



219 



body, and swayed in his opinions and actions by his favourite 
teacher Omar Almeksus, of the sect of the Kadarii, who main- 
tain the free-will of men, and that a contrary opinion would 
make God the author of sin. 

Moawyah assumed the supreme authority with extreme re- 
luctance, and felt his incompetency to its duties ; for the state 
of his health obliged him to shun daylight, and keep in dark- 
ened rooms ; whence the Arabs, in their propensity to by- 
names, gave him the derisive appellation of Abuleilah, " Father 
of the Night." 

He abdicated at the end of six months, alleging his incom- 
petency. The Ommiades were indignant at his conduct ; they 
attributed it, and probably with reason, to the counsels of the 
sage Omar Almeksus, on whom they are said to have wreaked 
their rage by burying him alive. 

Moawyah refused to nominate a successor. His grandfather 
Moawyah, he said, had wrested the sceptre from the hands of a 
better man ; his father Yezid had not merited so great a trust, 
and he himself, being unworthy and unfit to wield it, was 
equally unworthy to appoint a successor ; he left the election, 
therefore, to the chiefs of the people. In all which he probably 
spake according to the dictates of the sage Omar Almeksus. 

As soon as he had thrown off the cares of government, he 
shut himself up in the twilight gloom of his chamber, whence 
he never stirred until his death, which happened soon after : 
caused, some say, by the plague, others by poison. His own 
diseased frame and morbid temperament, however, account 
sufficiently for his dissolution. 

The election of a Caliph again distracted the Moslem empire. 
The leading men at Damascus determined upon Merwan Ibn 
Hakem, of the family of Ommiah, and once the secretary of 
state of Othman, who had so craftily managed the correspond- 
ence of that unfortunate Caliph. He was now well stricken 
in years ; tall and meagre, with a pale face and yellow beard, 
doubtless tinged according to Oriental usage. Those who 
elected him took care to stipulate that he should not nominate 
any of his posterity as his successor ; but should be succeeded 
by Khaled, the son of Yezid ; as yet a minor. Merwan, in his 
eagerness for power, pledged himself without hesitation ; how 
faithfully he redeemed his pledge will be seen hereafter. 

While this election was held at Damascus, Abdallah Ibn 
Zobeir was acknowledged as Caliph in Mecca, Medina, and 



220 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



throughout Arabia, as also in Khorassan, in Babylonia, and in 
Egypt. 

Another candidate for the supreme power unexpectedly arose 
in Obeid'allah Ibn Ziyad, the emir of Bassora ; the same who 
had caused the massacre of Hosein. He harangued an assem- 
blage of the people of Bassora on the state of the contending 
factions in Syria and Arabia ; the importance of their own 
portion of the empire, so capable of sustaining itself in inde- 
pendence, and the policy of appointing some able person as a 
protector, to watch over the public weal, until these dissensions 
should cease, and a Caliph be unanimously appointed. The 
assembly was convinced by his reasoning, and urged him to 
accept the appointment. He declined it repeatedly with politic 
grace, but was at length prevailed upon ; and the leaders gave 
him their hands, promising allegiance to him as a provisional 
chief, until a Caliph should be regularly elected. His authority, 
however, was but of short duration. The people of Cufa, who 
had experienced his tyranny as governor, rejected with scorn 
his election as protector ; their example reacted upon the fickle 
Bassorians, who suddenly revoked their late act of allegiance, 
rose in tumultuous opposition to the man they had so recently 
honoured, and Obeid'allah was fain to disguise himself in female 
attire, and take refuge in the house of an adherent. During 
his sway, however, he had secured an immense amount of gold 
from the public treasury. This he now shared among Iris par- 
tisans, and distributed by handsful among the multitude : but 
though he squandered in this way above two hundred thousand 
pieces of gold upon the populace, and raised a few transient 
tumults in his favour, he was ultimately obliged to fly for his 
life, and his effects were pillaged by the rabble. So fared it 
with the temporary tyrant who smote the gory head of the 
virtuous Hosein. 

He fled by night, at the head of only a hundred men. After 
a time, weariness compelled him to excliange the camel on 
which he was mounted for an ass. In this humble plight, with 
drooping head, and legs dangling to the ground, journeyed the 
imperious Obeid'allah, who but the day before was governor of 
Babylonia, and aspired to the throne of the Caliphs. One of 
his attendants, noticing his dejection, and hearing him mutter 
to himself, supposed him smitten with contrition, and upbraiding 
himself with having incurred these calamities, as a judgment 
for the death of Hosein. He ventured to suggest his thoughts, 



MERWAN AND ABDALLAH. 



221 



and to offer consolation ; but Obeid'allah quickly let him know 
that his only repentance and self-reproach were for not having 
attacked the faithless Bassorians, and struck off their heads, at 
the very outbreak of their revolt. Obeid'allah effected his 
escape into Syria, and arrived at Damascus in time to take an 
active part in the election of Merwan to the Caliphat. In the 
mean time, Bassora declared its allegiance to Abdallah Ibn 
Zobeir. 

The claims of Merwan to the Caliphat were acknowledged 
in Syria alone ; but Syria, if undivided, was an empire in itself. 
It was divided, however. A powerful faction, headed by Dehac 
Ibn Kais, late governor of Cufa, disputed the pretensions of 
Merwan, and declared for Abdallah. They appeared in arms 
in the plain near Damascus. Merwan took the field against 
them in person. A great and sanguinary battle took place ; 
Dehac and fourscore of the flower of Syrian nobility were slain, 
and an immense number of their adherents. Victory declared 
for Merwan. He called off his soldiers from the pursuit, re- 
minding them that the fugitives were their brethren. 

"When the head of Dehac was brought to him, he turned 
from it with sorrow. " Alas I" exclaimed he, " that an old 
and worn-out man like myself should occasion the young and 
vigorous to be cut to pieces !" 

His troops hailed him as Caliph beyond all dispute, and bore 
him back in triumph to Damascus. He took up his abode in 
the palace of his predecessors, Moavvyah and Yezid ; but now 
came a harder part of his task. It had been stipulated that, at 
his death, Khaled, the son of Yezid, should be his successor. 
It was now urged that he should marry the widow of Yezid, the 
mother of the youth, and thus make himself his legitimate 
guardian. 

The aged Merwan would fain have evaded this condition ; 
but it was forced upon him as a measure of policy, and he com- 
plied. No sooner, however, was the marriage solemnised, than 
he left his capital and his bride, and set off with an army for 
Egypt, to put down the growing ascendancy of Abdallah in 
that region. He sent in advance Amru Ibn Saad, who acted 
with such promptness and vigour, that while the Caliph was yet 
on the march he received tidings that the lieutenant of Abdallah 
had been driven from the province, and the Egyptians brought 
under subjection; whereupon Merwan turned his face again 
toward Damascus. 



222 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



Intelligence now overtook him that an army under Musab, 
brother of Abdallah, was advancing upon Egypt. The old 
Caliph again faced about, and resumed his march in that direc- 
tion, but again was anticipated by Amru, who routed Musab in 
a pitched battle, and completely established the sway of Merwan 
over Egypt. The Caliph now appointed his son Abd'alaziz to 
the government of that important country, and once more re- 
turned to Damascus, whither he was soon followed by the vic- 
torious Amru. 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

In the present divided state of the Moslem empire, the people 
of Khorassan remained neuter, refusing to acknowledge either 
Caliph. They appointed Salem, the son of Ziyad, to act as 
regent, until the unity of the Moslem government should be 
restored. He continued for a length of time in this station, 
maintaining the peace of the province, and winning the hearts 
of the inhabitants by his justice, equity, and moderation. 

About this time there was a sudden awakening among the 
sect of Ali, in Babylonia. The people of Cufa, proverbially 
fickle and faithless, were seized with tardy remorse for the fate 
of Hosein, of which they were conscious of being the cause. 
Those who had not personally assisted in his martyrdom, formed 
an association to avenge his death. Above a hundred of the 
chief men of the country joined them. They took the name of 
The PenitentSj to express their contrition for having been in- 
strumental in the death of the martyr, and they chose for their 
leader one of the veteran companions of the prophet, the vene- 
rable Solyman Ibn Sorad, who devoted his grey hairs to this 
pious vengeance. 

The awakening spread far and wide ; in a little while up- 
wards of sixteen thousand names were enrolled ; a general 
appeal to arms was anticipated throughout the country, and the 
veteran Solyman called upon all true Moslems disposed to pro- 
secute this " holy war," to assemble at a place called Xochaila. 
Before the appointed time, however, the temporary remorse of 
the people of Cufa had subsided ; the enthusiasm for the memory 
of Hosein had cooled throughout the province ; intriguing 
meddlers, jealous of the appointment of Solyman, had been at 
work, and when the veteran came to the place of assemblage, 
he found but an inconsiderable number prepared for action. 

He now despatched two horsemen to Cufa, who arrived there 
at the hour of the last evening prayer, galloped through the 



MERWAN AND ABDALLAH. 



223 



streets to the great mosque, rousing the Penitents with the war- 
cry of " Vengeance for Hosein." The call was not lost on the 
real enthusiasts ; a kind of madness seized upon many of the 
people, who thronged after the couriers, echoing the cry of ven- 
geance. The cry penetrated into the depths of the houses. 
One man tore himself from the arms of a beautiful and tenderly 
beloved wife, and began to arm for battle. She asked him if he 
were mad. " No!" cried he, " but I hear the summons of the 
herald of God, and I fly to avenge the death of Hosein." 
" And in whose protection do you leave our child?" 6 i I com- 
mend him and thee to the protection of Allah !" So saying he 
departed. 

Another called for a lance and steed ; told his daughter that 
he fled from crime to penitence ; took a hurried leave of his 
family, and galloped to the camp of Solyman. 

Still, when the army of Penitents was mustered on the follow- 
ing day, it did not exceed four thousand. Solyman flattered 
himself, however, that reinforcements, promised him from various 
quarters, would join him when on the march. He harangued 
his scanty host, roused their ardour, and marched them to the 
place of Hosein's murder, where they passed a day and night in 
prayer and lamentation. They then resumed their march. 
Their intention was to depose both Caliphs, Merwan and Ab- 
dallah; to overthrow the family of Ommiah, and restore the 
throne to the house of Ali; but their first object was vengeance 
on Obeid'allah, the son of Ziyad, to whom they chiefly ascribed 
the murder of Hosein. The aged Solyman led his little army 
of enthusiasts through Syria, continually disappointed of recruits, 
but unabated in their expectation of aid from Heaven, until they 
were encountered by Obeid'allah with an army of twenty thou- 
sand horsemen, and cut in pieces. 

In the midst of these internal feuds and dissensions, a spark 
of the old Saracen spirit was aroused by the news of disastrous 
reverses in Northern Africa. We have recorded, in a former 
chapter, the heroic but disastrous end of Acbah on the plains of 
Numidia, where he and his little army were massacred by a 
Berber host, led on by Aben Cahina. That Moorish chieftain, 
while flushed with victory, had been defeated by Zohair before 
the walls of Caerwan, and the spirits of the Moslems had once 
more revived ; especially on the arrival of reinforcements sent 
by Abd'alaziz from Egypt. A sad reverse, however, again took 
place. A large force of imperialists, veteran and well-armed 



224 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



soldiers from Constantinople, were landed on the African coast 
to take advantage of the domestic troubles of the Moslems, and 
drive them from their African possessions. Being joined by 
the light troops of Barbary, they attacked Zobeir in open field. 
He fought long and desperately, but being deserted by the Egyp- 
tian reinforcements, and overpowered by numbers, was com- 
pelled to retreat to Barca, while the conquering foe marched on 
to Caerwan, captured that city, and made themselves masters of 
the surrounding country. 

It was the tidings of this disastrous reverse, and of the loss of 
the great outpost of Moslem conquest in Northern Africa, that 
roused the Saracen spirit from its domestic feuds. Abd'almalec, 
the eldest son of the Caliph Merwan, who had already served in 
Africa, was sent with an army to assist Zobeir. He met that 
general in Barca, where he was again collecting an army. They 
united their forces ; retraced the westward route of victory, de- 
feated the enemy in every action, and replaced the standard of 
the faith on the walls of Caerwan. Having thus wiped out the 
recent disgraces, Abd'almalec left Zobeir in command of that 
region, and returned covered with glory to sustain his aged 
father in the Caliphat at Damascus. 

The latter days of Merwan had now arrived. He had been 
intriguing and faithless in his youth ; he was equally so in his 
age. In his stipulations on receiving the Caliphat, he had pro- 
mised the succession to Khaled, the son of Yezid ; he had since 
promised it to his nephew Amru, who had fought his battles 
and confirmed his power; in his latter days he caused his own 
son Abd'almalec, fresh from African exploits, to be proclaimed 
his successor, and allegiance to be sworn to him. Khaled, his 
step-son, reproached him with his breach of faith ; in the heat 
of reply, Merwan called the youth by an opprobrious epithet; 
which brought in question the chastity of his mother. This 
unlucky word is said to have caused the sudden death of Merwan. 
His wife, the mother of Khaled, is charged with having given 
him poison; others say that she threw a pillow on his face while 
he slept, and sat on it until he was suffocated. He died in the 
6oth year of the Hegira, A.D. 684, after a brief reign of not 
quite a year. 

CHAPTER L. 
On the death of Merwan, his son Abd'almalec was inaugu- 
rated Caliph at Damascus, and acknowledged throughout 
Syria and Egypt, as well as in the newly-conquered parts of 



abd'almalec. 



225 



Africa. He was in the full vigour of life, being about forty 
years of age ; his achievements in Africa testify his enterprise, 
activity, and valour, and he was distinguished for wisdom and 
learning. From the time of his father's inauguration he had 
been looking forward to the probability of becoming his suc- 
cessor, and ambition of sway had taken place of the military 
ardour of his early youth. When the intelligence of his father's 
death reached him, he was sitting cross-legged, in Oriental 
fashion, with the Koran open on his knees. He immediately 
closed the sacred volume, and rising exclaimed, " Fare thee well, 
I am called to other matters. 5 ' 

The accession to sovereign power is said to have wrought a 
change in his character. He had always been somewhat 
superstitious; he now became attentive to signs, omens and 
dreams, and grew r so sordid and covetous, that the Arabs, 
in their propensity to give characteristic and satirical surnames, 
used to call him Rafhol Hejer, that is to say, Sweat-Stone; 
equivalent to our vulgar epithet of skin-flint. 

Abdallah Ibn Zobeir was still acknowledged as Caliph by 
a great portion of the Moslem dominions, and held his seat of 
government at 31ecca; this gave him great influence over the 
true believers, who resorted in pilgrimage to the Caaba. Abd'- 
almalec determined to establish a rival place of pilgrimage 
within his own dominions. For this purpose he chose the 
temple of Jerusalem, sacred in the eyes of the Moslems, as con- 
nected with the acts and revelations of Moses, of Jesus, and of 
Mahomet, and as being surrounded by the tombs of the pro- 
phets. He caused this sacred edifice to be enlarged so as to in- 
clude within its walls the steps upon which the Caliph Omar 
prayed on the surrender of that city. It was thus converted 
into a mosque, and the venerable and sanctified stone called 
Jacob's pillow, on which the patriarch is said to have had his 
dream, was presented for the kisses of. pilgrims, in like manner 
as the black stone of the Caaba. 

There was at this time a general of bold, if not ferocious cha- 
racter, who played a sort of independent part in the troubles and 
commotions of the Moslem empire. He was the son of Abu 
Obeidah, and was sometimes called Al Thakifi, from his native 
city Thayef, but won for himself the more universal appellation 
of Al Moktar, or the Avenger. The first notice we find of him 
is during the short reign of Hassan, the son of Ali, being zeal- 
ously devoted to the family of that Caliph. We next find him 

Q 



226 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MA.HOMET. 



at Cufa, harbouring and assisting Muslem, the emissary of 
Hosein, and secretly fomenting the conspiracy in favour of the 
latter. When the emir Obeid'allah came to Cufa, he was told 
of the secret practices of Al Moktar, and questioned him on the 
subject. Receiving a delusive reply, he smote him over the 
face with his staff and struck out one of his eyes. He then cast 
him into prison, where he lay until the massacre of Hosein. 
Intercessions were made in his favour with the Caliph Yezid, 
who ordered his release. The emir executed the order, but 
gave Al Moktar notice, that if, after the expiration of three 
days, he were found within his jurisdiction, his life should be 
forfeited. 

Al Moktar departed, uttering threats and maledictions. One 
of his friends who met him, inquired concerning the loss of 
his eye. " It was the act of that son of a wanton, Obeid'allah/' 
said he, bitterly, " but may Allah confound me if I do not one 
day cut him in pieces." Blood revenge for the death of Hosein. 
became now his ruling thought. " May Allah forsake me," he 
would say, ' 6 if I do not kill as many in vengeance of that mas- 
sacre, as were destroyed to avenge the blood of John, the son of 
Zacharias, on whom be peace!" 

He now repaired to Mecca, and presented himself before 
Abdallah Ibn Zobeir, who had recently been inaugurated ; but 
he would not take the oath of allegiance until the Caliph had 
declared his disposition to revenge the murder of Hosein. 
" Never," said lie, "will the affairs of Abdallah prosper, until I 
am at the head of his army taking revenge for that murder." 

Al Moktar fought valiantly in defence of the sacred city 
while besieged; but when the siege was raised in consequence 
of the death of Yezid, and Abdallah became generally acknow- 
ledged, he found the Caliph growing cold towards him, or 
towards the constant purpose of his thoughts; he left him 
therefore, and set out for Cufa, visiting all the mosques on the 
way, haranguing the people on the subject of the death of 
Hosein, and declaring himself his avenger. 

On arriving at Cufa, he found his self-appointed office of 
avenger likely to be forestalled by the veteran Solyman, who 
was about to depart on his mad enterprise with his crazy Peni- 
tents. Calling together the sectaries of AH, he produced cre- 
dentials from Mahomet, the brother of Hosein, which gained 
for him their confidence; and then represented to them the 
rashness and futility of the proposed expedition; and to his 



abd'almalec. 



227 



opposition may be ascribed the diminished number of volunteers 
that assembled at the call of Solyman. 

While thus occupied he was arrested on a charge of plotting 
an insurrection with a view to seize upon the province, and was 
thrown into the same prison in which he had been confined by 
Obeid'allah. During his confinement he kept up a corre- 
spondence with the sectaries of Ali by letters conveyed in the 
lining of a cap. On the death of the Caliph Merwan he was 
released from prison, and found himself head of the Alians, 
or powerful sect of Ali ; who even offered their adhesion to him 
as Caliph, on condition that he would govern according to the 
Koran, and the Sonna or traditions, and would destroy the 
murderers of Hosein and his family. 

Al Moktar entered heartily upon the latter part of his 
duties, and soon established his claim to the title of Avenger. 
The first on whom he wreaked his vengeance was the ferocious 
Shamar, who had distinguished himself in the massacre of 
Hosein. Him he overcame and slew. The next w^as Caulah, 
who cut off the head of Hosein and conveyed it to the emir 
Obeid'allah. Him he beleaguered in his dwelling, and killed, 
and gave his body to the flames. His next victim was Amar 
Ibn Saad, the commander of the army that surrounded Hosein ; 
with him he slew his son; and sent both of their heads to 
Mahomet, the brother of Hosein. He then seized Adi Ibn 
Hathem, who had stripped the body of Hosein while the limbs 
were yet quivering with life. Him he handed over to some of 
the sect of Ali, who stripped him, set him up as a target, and 
discharged arrows at him until they stood out from his body 
like the quills of a porcupine. In this way Al Moktar went 
on, searching out the murderers of Hosein wherever they were 
to be found, and inflicting on them a diversity of deaths. 

Sustained by the Alians, or sect of Ali, he now maintained 
a military sway in Cufa, and held, in fact, a sovereign authority 
over Babylonia ; he felt, however, that his situation was pre- 
carious ; an army out of Syria, sent by Abd'almalec, was 
threatening him on one side ; and Musab, brother of the Caliph 
Abdallah, w^as in great force at Bassora menacing him on the 
other. He now had recourse to stratagems to sustain his 
power, and accomplish his great scheme of vengeance. He 
made overtures to Abdallah, offering to join him with his forces. 
The wary Caliph suspected his sincerity, and required, as proofs 
of it, the oath of allegiance from himself and his people, and a 
detachment to proceed against the army of Abd'almalec. 

Q2 



228 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



Al Moktar promptly sent off an officer, named Serjabil, with 
three thousand men, with orders to proceed to Medina. Ab» 
dallah, still wary and suspicious, despatched a shrewd general, 
Abbas Ibn Sahel, with a competent force to meet Serjabil and 
sound his intentions, and if he were convinced there w r as lurking 
treachery, to act accordingly. 

Abbas and Serjabil encountered at the head of their troops 
on the highway to Medina. They had an amicable conference, 
in which Abbas thought he discovered sufficient proof of per- 
fidy. He took measures accordingly. Finding the little army 
of Serjabil almost famished for lack of provisions, he killed a 
great number of fat sheep and distributed them among the 
hungry troops. A scene of hurry and glad confusion imme- 
diately took place. Some scattered themselves about the 
neighbourhood in search of fuel ; some were cooking, some 
feasting. In this unguarded moment Abbas set upon them 
with his troops, slew Serjabil, and nearly four hundred of his 
men ; but gave quarter to the rest, most of whom enlisted under 
his standard. 

Al Moktar, finding that his good faith was doubted by 
Abdallah, wrote privately to Mahomet, brother of Hosein, who 
was permitted by the Caliph to reside in Mecca, where he led 
a quiet, inoffensive life, offering to bring a powerful army to 
his assistance if he would take up arms. Mahomet sent a 
verbal reply, assuring Al Moktar of his belief in the sincerity 
of his offers ; but declining all appeal to arms, saying he was 
resolved to bear his lot with patience, and leave the event to 
God. As the messenger was departing he gave him a parting 
word : " Bid Al Moktar fear God and abstain from shedding 
blood/' 

The pious resignation and passive life of Mahomet were of 
no avail. The suspicious eye of Abdallah was fixed upon him. 
The Cufians of the sect of Ali, and devotees to the memory of 
Hosein, who yielded allegiance to neither of the rival Caliphs, 
were still permitted to make their pilgrimages to the Caaba, 
and when in Mecca, did not fail to do honour to Mahomet Ibn 
Ali and his family. The secret messages of Al Moktar to 
Mahomet were likewise known. The Caliph AbdalJah, sus- 
pecting a conspiracy, caused Mahomet and his family, and 
seventeen of the principal pilgrims from Cufa, to be arrested, 
and confined in the edifice by the sacred well Zem Zem, 
threatening them with death, unless by a certain time they gave 
the pledge of allegiance. 



abd'almalec, 



229 



From their prison tliev contrived to send a letter to Al 
Moktar, apprising him of their perilous condition. He as- 
sembled the Alians, or sect of Ali, at Cufa, and read the letter. 
" This comes," said he, " from Mahomet, the son of Ali, and 
brother of Hosein. He and his family, the purest of the house 
of your prophet, are shut up like sheep destined for the slaugh- 
ter. Will you desert them in their extremity, and leave them 
to be massacred as you did the martyr Hosein and his family ?" 

The appeal was effectual ; the Alians cried out to be led to 
Mecca. Al Moktar marshalled out seven hundred and fifty 
men, bold riders, hard fighters, well armed and fleetly mounted, 
arranged them in small troops to follow each other at consider- 
able intervals, troop after troop, like the waves of the sea ; the 
leader of the first troop, composed of a hundred and fifty men, 
was Abu Abdallah Aljodali. He set off first; the others fol- 
lowed at sufficient distance to be out of sight, but all spurred 
forward, for no time was to be lost. 

Abu Abdallah was the first to enter Mecca. His small troop 
awakened no alarm. He made his way to the well of Zem 
Zem, crying " Vengeance for Hosein ;" drove off the guard 
and broke open the prison house, where he liberated Mahomet 
Ibn Ali and his family. 

The tumult brought the Caliph and his guard. Abu Abdal- 
lah would have given them battle, but Mahomet interfered, and 
represented that it was impious to fight within the precincts of 
the Caaba. The Caliph, seeing the small force that was with 
Abdallah, would on his part have proceeded to violence, when 
lo ! the second troop of hard riders spurred up ; then the third, 
and presently all the rest ; shouting " Allah Achbar," and 
" Vengeance for Hosein." 

The Caliph, taken by surprise, lost all presence of mind. 
He knew the popularity of Mahomet Ibn Ali and his family, 
and dreaded an insurrection. Abu Abdallah in the moment of 
triumph would have put him to death, but his hand was stayed 
by the pious and humane Mahomet. The matter was peace- 
ably adjusted. The Caliph was left unmolested ; Mahomet 
distributed among his friends and adherents a great sum of 
money, which had been sent to him by Al Moktar, and then 
with his family departed in safety from Mecca. 

Al Moktar had now to look to his safety at home ; his old 
enemy Obeid'allah, former emir of Cufa, was pressing forward 
at the head of an army of the Caliph Abd'almalec, to recover 



230 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAH03IET. 



that city, holding- out to his troops a promise of three days' 
sack and pillage. Al Moktar called on the inhabitants to take 
arms against their former tyrant and the murderer of Hosein. 
A body of troops sallied forth headed by Ibrahim, the son of 
Alashtar. To give a mysterious sanctity to the expedition, Al 
Moktar caused a kind of throne covered with a veil to be placed 
on a mule, and led forth with the army ; to be to them what 
the ark was to the children of Israel, a sacred safeguard. On 
going into battle, the following prayer was to be offered up at 
it : " Oh God ! keep us in obedience to thee ; and help us in 
our need." To which all the people were to respond, H Amen 1" 

The army of Ibrahim encountered the host of Obeid'ailah 
on the plains, at some distance from Cufa. They rushed for- 
ward with a holy enthusiasm inspired by the presence of their 
ark : tfi Vengeance for Hosein \" was their cry, and it smote 
upon the heart of Obeid'ailah. The battle was fierce and 
bloody ; the Syrian force, though greatlv superior, was com- 
pletely routed ; Obeid'ailah was killed, fighting with desperate 
valour, and more of his soldiers were drowned in the flight than 
were slaughtered in the field. This signal victory was attributed, 
in a great measure, to the presence of the ark or veiled throne, 
which thenceforward was regarded almost with idolatry. 

Ibrahim caused the body of Obeid'ailah to be burnt to ashes, 
and sent his head to Al Moktar. The gloomy heart of the 
Avenger throbbed with exultation, as he beheld this relic of the 
man who had oppressed, insulted, and mutilated him: he recol- 
lected the blow over the face which had deprived him of an 
eye, and smote the gory head of Obeid'ailah, even as he had 
been smitten. 

Thus, says the royal and pious historian Abulfeda, did Al- 
lah make use of the deadly hate of Al Moktar to punish 
Obeid'ailah, the son of Ziyad, for the martyrdom of Hosein. 

The triumph of Al Moktar was not of long duration. He 
ruled over a fickle people, and he ruled them with a rod of 
iron. He persecuted all who were not, or whom he chose to 
consider as not, of the Hosein party, and he is charged with 
fomenting an insurrection of the slaves against the chief men 
of the city of Cufa. A combination was at length formed 
against him, and an invitation was sent to 3Iusab Ibn Zobeir, 
who had been appointed emir of Bassora, by his brother, the 
Caliph Abdallah. 

The invitation was borne by one Shebet, an enthusiast, who 



ABD ALMALEC. 



231 



made his entrance into Bassora on a mule with eropt ears and 
tail, his clothes rent, exclaiming with a loud voice, a Ya gau- 
tha ! Ya gautha ! Help ! help 1" He delivered his message in 
a style suited to his garb, but accompanied it by letters from 
the chief men of Cufa, which stated their grievances in a more 
rational manner. Musab wrote instantly to Al Mohalleb, the 
emir of Persia, one of the ablest generals of the time, to come 
to his aid with men and money; and on his arrival, joined 
forces with him to attack the Avenger in his seat of power. 

Al Moktar did not wait to be besieged. He took the field 
with his accustomed daring, and gave battle beneath the walls 
of his capital. It was a bloody fight ; the presence of the 
mysterious throne had its effect upon the superstitious minds 
of the Cufians, but Al Moktar had become hateful from his 
tyranny, and many of the first people were disaffected to him. 
His army was routed; he retreated into the royal citadel of 
Cufa, and defended it bravely and skilfully, until he received 
a mortal wound. Their chief being killed, the garrison sur- 
rendered at discretion, and Musab put every man to the sword, 
to the number of seven thousand. 

Thus fell Al Moktar Ibn Abu Obeidah, in his sixty-seventh 
year, after having defeated the ablest generals of three Caliphs, 
and by the sole power of his sword made himself the inde- 
pendent ruler of all Babylonia. He is said never to have par- 
doned an enemy ; to have persecuted with inveterate hate all 
who were hostile to the family of A3i 5 and in vengeance of the 
massacre of Hosein, to have shed the blood of nearly fifty thou- 
sand men, exclusive of those who were slain in battle. Well 
did he merit the title of the Avenger. 

CHAPTER LI. 
The death of Al Moktar threw the province of Babylonia, 
with its strong capital Cufa, into the hands of Musab Ibn Zo- 
beir, brother to the Caliph Abdallah. Musab was well calcu- 
lated to win the favour of the people. He was in the flower of 
his days, being but thirty-six years of age, comely in person, 
engaging in manners, generous in spirit, and of consummate 
bravery, though not much versed in warfare. He had been an 
intimate friend of Abd'almalec before the latter was made 
Caliph, but he was brother to the rival Caliph, and connected 
by marriage with families in deadly opposition to the house of 
Ommiah. Abd'almalec, therefore, regarded him as a formida- 



232 THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 

ble foe, and, warned bv the disasters of his army under Obeid'- 
allah, resolved now to set out at the head of a second expedition 
in person, designed for the invasion of Babylonia. 

In setting forth on this enterprise, he confided the govern- 
ment of Damascus to his cousin, Amru Ibn Saad. He did 
this in consideration of the military skill of Amru, though 
secretly there was a long-nourished hate between them. The 
origin of this hatred shows the simplicity of Saracen manners 
in those days. When boys, Abd'almalec and Amru were often 
under the care of an old beldame of their family, who used to 
prepare their meals, and produce quarrels between them in the 
allotment of their portions. These childish disputes became 
fierce quarrels and broils as they grew up together, and were 
rivals in their youthful games and exercises. In manhood 
they ripened into deadly jealousy and envy, as they became 
conquering generals ; but the elevation of Abd'almalec to the 
Caliphat sank deep into the heart of Amru, as a flagrant 
wrong; the succession having been promised to him by his 
uncle, the late Caliph Merwan, as a reward for having subju- 
gated Egypt. As soon, therefore, as Abd'almalec had de- 
parted from Damascus, Amru, not content with holding the 
government of the city, aspired to the sovereignty of Syria, as 
his rightful dominion. 

Abd'almalec heard of the usurpation while on the march, 
returned rapidly in his steps, and a bloody conflict ensued be- 
tween the forces of the rival cousins in the streets of Damascus. 
The women rushed between them ; held up their children, and 
implored the combatants to desist from this unnatural warfare. 
Amru laid down his arms, and articles of reconciliation were 
drawn up and signed by the cousins. 

Abd'almalec proved faithless to his engagements. Getting 
Amru into his power by an artful stratagem, he struck off his 
head, put to death the principal persons who had supported 
him in his usurpation, and banished his family. As the exiles 
were about to depart, he demanded of the widow of Amru the 
written articles of pacification which he had exchanged with 
her husband. She replied that she had folded them up in his 
winding-sheet, to be at hand at the final day of judgment. 

Abd'almalec now resumed his march for Babylonia. He 
had sent agents before him to tamper with the fidelity of the 
principal persons. One of these, Ibrahim Ibn Alashtar, he 
had offered to make emir if he would serve his cause. Ibra- 



abd'almalec. 



233 



liim, who was of incorruptible integrity, showed the letter to 
Musab, warned him that similar attempts must have been 
made to sap the fidelity of other persons of importance, and 
advised him to use the scimetar freely, wherever he suspected 
disaffection; but Musab was too just and merciful to act thus 
upon mere suspicion. The event showed that Ibrahim under- 
stood the fickle and perfidious nature of the people of Irak. 

A battle took place on the margin of the desert, not far 
from Palmyra. It commenced with a gallant charge of ca- 
valry, headed by Ibrahim Ibn Alashtar, which broke the ranks 
of the Syrians and made great havoc. Abd'almalec came up 
with a reinforcement, and rallied his scattered troops. In 
making a second charge, however. Ibrahim was slain, and now 
the perfidy of the Cufians became apparent. 3Iusab's general 
of horse wheeled round and spurred ignominiously from the 
field ; others of the leaders refused to advance. Musab called 
loudly for Ibrahim, but, seeing his lifeless bodv on the ground, 
u Alas!*' he exclaimed. " there is no Ibrahim for me this day.* 

Turning to his son Isa, a mere stripling, yet who had fought 
with manly valour by his side, "Fly my son." cried he; "fly 
to thy uncle Abdallah at 3Iecca ; tell him of my fate and of 
the perfidy of the men of Irak." Isa, who inherited the un- 
daunted spirit of the family of Zobeir, refused to leave his 
father. <; Let us retreat." said he, {: to Bassora, where you 
will still find friends, and may thence make good vour return 
to 3Iecca." 

w No, my son !" replied Musab. K never shall it be said among 
the men of Koreish that I fled the field of battle, or entered the 
temple of Mecca a vanquished general!" 

During- an interval of the battle. Abd'almalec sent Musab 
an offer of his life. His reply was. he had come to conquer or 
to die. The conflict was soon at an end. The troops who 
adhered to Musab were cut to pieces, his son Isa was slain by 
his side, and he himself, after being repeatedly wounded with 
arrows, was stabbed to the heart, and his head struck off. 

When Abd'almalec entered Cufa in triumph, the fickle in- 
habitants thronged to welcome him and take the oath of alle- 
giance, and he found himself in quiet possession of both Baby- 
lonia and Persian Irak. He distributed great sums of money 
to win the light affections of the populace, and gave a sump- 
tuous banquet in the citadel, to which all were welcome. 

In the height of the banquet, when all was revelry, a 



234 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET, 



thought passed through the mind of the Caliph, as to the tran- 
sient duration of all human grandeur. "Alas!" he ejaculated, 
" how sweetly we might live, if a shadow would but last !" The 
same vein of melancholy continued when the banquet was over, 
and he walked about the castle with an old grey-headed inhabi- 
tant, listening to his account of its antiquities and traditions. 
Every reply of the old man to his questions about things or 
persons began with the words, " This was, — That was, — 
He was." 

u Alas !" sighed the Caliph, repeating a verse from an 
Arabian poet ; " every thing new soon runneth to decay, and of 
every one that is, it is soon said, He was !" 

While thus conversing, the head of Musab was brought to 
him, and he ordered a thousand dinars of gold to the soldier 
who brought it, but he refused the reward. " I slew him," he 
said, " not for money, but to avenge a private wrong." The old 
chronicler of the castle now broke forth on the wonderful suc- 
cession of events. u I am fourscore and ten years old," said he, 
" and have outlived many generations. In this very castle I 
have seen the head of Hosein presented to Obeid'allah, the 
son of Ziyad ; then the head of Obeid'allah to Al Moktar ; then 
the head of Al Moktar to Musab, and now that of Musab to 
yourself." The Caliph was superstitious, and the words of the 
old man sounded ominously as the presage of a brief career to 
himself. He determined that his own head should not meet 
with similar fate within that castle's walls, and gave orders to 
raze the noble citadel of Cufa to the foundation. 

Abd'almalec now appointed his brother Besher Ibn Merwan 
to the government of Babylonia ; and as he was extremely 
young, he gave him, as chief counsellor, or vizier, a veteran 
named Musa Ibn Nosseyr, who had long enjoyed the confidence 
of the family of Merwan, as had his father before him. It is 
said by some that his father Nosseyr was a liberated slave of the 
Caliph's brother Abd'alaziz, and employed by him in high 
functions. So great was the confidence of the Caliph in Musa, 
that he intrusted him with all the military rolls of the province, 
and signified to him that in future the responsibility would rest 
upon him. On taking possession of his government, Besher 
delivered his seal of office into the hands of Musa, and intrusted 
him with the entire management of affairs. This Musa, it will 
be found, rose afterwards to great renown. 

The Caliph also appointed Khaled Ibn Abdallah to the com- 



abd'almalec. 



235 



mand at Bassora, after which he returned to his capital of 
Damascus. The province of Babylonia, however, was not 
destined to remain long at peace. There was at this time a 
powerful Moslem sect in Persia, a branch of the Motalazites, 
called Azarakites from the name of their founder Ibn Al Azarak, 
but known also by the name of Separatists. They were enemies 
of all regular government, and fomenters of sedition and re- 
bellion. During the sway of the unfortunate Musab, they had 
given him great trouble by insurrections in various parts of the 
country, accompanied by atrocious cruelties. They had been 
kept in check, however, by Mohalleb, the lieutenant of Musab. 
and one of the ablest generals of the age, who was incessantly 
on the alert at the head of the army, and never allowed their 
insurrections to come to any head. 

Mohalleb was on a distant command at the time of the in- 
vasion and conquest. As soon as he heard of the defeat and 
death of Musab, and the change in the government of Irak, he 
hastened to Bassora to acknowledge allegiance to Abd'almalec. 
Khaled accepted his services, in the name of the Caliph, but in- 
stead of returning him to the post he had so well sustained at 
the head of the army, appointed him supervisor or collector of 
tributes, and gave the command of the forces to his own brother, 
named Abd'alaziz. The change was unfortunate. The Azara- 
kites had already taken breath, and acquired strength during 
the temporary absence of their old adversary, Mohalleb ; but as 
soon as they heard he was no longer in command, they collected 
all their forces and made a rapid inroad into Irak. 

Abd'alaziz advanced to meet them ; but he was new to his 
own troops, being a native of Mecca, and he knew little of the 
character of the enemy. He was entirely routed, and his wife, 
a woman of great beauty, taken captive. A violent dispute 
arose among the captors as to the ransom of their prize, some 
valuing her at one hundred thousand dinars : until a furious 
zealot, indignant that her beauty should cause dissension among 
them, struck off her head. 

The Caliph Abd'almalec was deeply grieved when he heard 
of this defeat, and wrote to Khaled, emir of Bassora, reproving 
him for having taken the command of the army from Mohalleb. 
a man of penetrating judgment, and hardened in war, and 
given it to Abd'alaziz, " a mere Arab of Mecca." He ordered 
him, therefore, to replace Mohalleb forthwith, and wrote also to 
his brother, Besher, emir of Babylonia, to send the general re- 
inforcements. 



236 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



Once more Mohalleb proved his generalship, by defeating 
the Azarakites in a signal and bloody battle near the city of 
Ahwaz ; nor did he suffer them to rally, but pursued them over 
the borders and into the heart of the mountains, until his troops 
lost almost all their horses, and returned crowned with victory, 
but wayworn and almost famished. 

The effect of all these internal wars was to diminish, for a 
time, the external terror of the Moslem name. The Greek em- 
peror, during the recent troubles, had made successful incursions 
into Syria ; and Abd'almalec, finding enemies enough among 
those of his own faith, had been fain to purchase a humiliating 
truce of the Christian potentate by an additional yearly tribute 
of fifty thousand ducats. 

CHAPTER LII. 

Abd'almalec, by his recent victories, had made himself 
sovereign of all the eastern part of the Moslem dominions ; he 
had protected himself also from the Christian emperor by a 
disgraceful augmentation of tribute ; be now determined to 
carry a war against his rival, Abdallah, to the very gates of 
Mecca ; and make himself sovereign of an undivided empire. 

The general chosen for this important enterprise was Al 
Hejagi (or Hedjadgi) Ibn Yusef, who rose to renown as one of 
the ablest and most eloquent men of that era. He set off from 
Damascus with but two thousand men ; but was joined by 
Taric Ibn Amar with five thousand more. Abd'almalec had 
made proclamations beforehand, promising protection and favour 
to such of the adherents of Abdallah as should come unto his 
allegiance, and he trusted that many of the inhabitants of 
Mecca would desert to the standard of Al Hejagi. 

Abdallah sent forth troops of horse to waylay and check 
the advance of the army, but they were easily repulsed, and Al 
Hejagi arrived without much difficulty before the sacred city. 
Before proceeding to hostilities he discharged arrows over the 
walls carrying letters, in wdiich the inhabitants were assured 
that he came merely to release them from the tyranny of Ab- 
dallah ; and were invited to accept the most favourable terms, 
and abandon a man who w T ould fain die with the title of Caliph, 
though the ruins of Mecca should be his sepulchre. 

The city w r as now assailed with battering-rams and cata- 
puitas ; breaches were made in the walls ; the houses within 
were shattered by great stones, or set on fire by flaming balls 
of pitch and naphtha. 



abd'almalec. 



237 



A violent storm of thunder and lightning killed several of 
the besiegers, and brought them to a pause. < ' Allah is wreak- 
ing his anger upon us," said they, " for assailing his holy city." 
Al Hejagi rebuked their superstitious fears and compelled them 
to renew the attack ; setting them an example by discharging 
a stone with his own hands. 

On the following day there was another storm, which did 
most injury to the garrison. " You perceive," said Al Hejagi, 
" the thunder strikes your enemies as well as yourselves." 

The besieged held out valiantly, and repulsed every assault. 
Abdallah, though now aged and infirm, proved himself a 
worthy son of Zobeir. During the early part of the siege, he 
resided chiefly in the Caaba ; that sacred edifice, therefore, be- 
came an object of attack ; a part of it was battered down by 
stones, and it was set on fire repeatedly by the balls of naphtha. 
He therefore abandoned it, and retired to his own dwelling. 
He was sustained throughout all this time of peril by the presence 
and counsels of his mother ; a woman of masculine spirit and 
unfailing energy, though ninety years of age. She was the 
granddaughter of Abu Beker, and proved herself worthy of her 
descent. She accompanied her son to the ramparts — caused 
refreshments to be distributed among the fighting men — was 
consulted in every emergency, and present in every danger. 

The siege continued with unremitting strictness ; many of 
Abdallah's most devoted friends were killed: others became 
disheartened ; nearly ten thousand of the inhabitants deserted 
to the enemy; even two of the Caliph's sons, Hamza and Ko- 
heib, forsook him, and made terms for themselves with the 
besiegers. 

In this forlorn state, his means of defence almost exhausted, 
and those who ought to have been most faithful deserting him, 
Abdallah was tempted by an offer of his own terms on condi- 
tion of surrender. 

He turned to his aged mother for advice. "Judge for 
yourself, my son," said the resolute descendant of Abu Beker. 
" If you feel that your cause is just, persevere. Your father 
Zobeir died for it, as did many of your friends. Do not bend 
your neck to the scorn of the haughty race of Ommiah. How 
much better an honourable death, than a dishonoured life for 
the brief term you have yet to live." 

The Caliph kissed her venerable forehead. " Thy thoughts 
are my own," said he, "nor has any other motive than zeal for 



238 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



God induced me thus far to persevere. From this moment, 
consider thy son as dead; and refrain from immoderate lamen- 
tation." " My trust is in God/' replied she, "and I shall 
have comfort in thee, my son, whether I go before or follow 
thee." 

As she took a parting embrace, she felt a coat of mail under 
the outer garments of Abdallah, and told him to put it off, as 
imsuited to a martyr prepared to die. " I have worn it," re- 
plied he, " that I might be the better able to defend thee, my 
mother." He added that he had little fear of death, but a 
horror of the insults and exposures to which his body might be 
subjected after death. 

" A sheep once killed, my son, feels not the flaying." With 
these words she gave him, to rouse his spirits, a cordial draught 
in which was a strong infusion of musk, and Abdallah went 
forth a self-devoted martyr. 

This last sally of the veteran Caliph struck terror and as- 
tonishment into the enemy. At the head of a handful of 
troops he repulsed them from the breach; drove them into the 
ditch, and slew an incredible number with his own hand ; others, 
however, thronged up in their place : he fought until his fol- 
lowers were slain, his arrows expended, and he had no weapon 
but sword and lance. He now retreated, step by step, with his 
face to the foe, disputing every inch of ground, until he arrived 
in a narrow place where he could only be assailed in front. 
Here he made his last stand. His opponents, not daring to 
come within reach of his weapons, assailed him from a distance 
with darts and arrows, and when these missiles were expended, 
with bricks, and tiles, and stones. A blow on the head from a 
stone made him totter, and the blood streamed down his face 
and beard. His assailants gave a shout ; but he recovered him- 
self and uttered a verse of a poet, " The blood of our wounds 
falls on our instep, not on our heels ;" implying that he had 
not turned his back upon the foe. At length he sank under 
repeated wounds and bruises, and the enemy closing upon him 
cut off his head. Thus died Abdallah, the son of Zobeir, in 
the seventy-third year of the Hegira, and the seventy-second 
year of his own age, after a stormy and disastrous reign of nine 
years. 

Taric Ibn Amar, struck with admiration of his persevering 
valour, exclaimed, "Never did woman bear a braver son!" 
"How is this," cried Al Hejagi, "do you speak thus of an 



abd'almalec. 



239 



enemy of the Commander of the Faithful ?" But Abd'almalec, 
when the speech was reported to him. concurred in the praise of 
his fallen rival. " By Allah !" exclaimed he, " what Taric 
hath spoken is the truth." When the tidings of Abdallah's 
death were brought to his aged mother, she experienced a re- 
vulsion of nature which she had not known for fifty years, and 
died of hemorrhage. 

Abdallah was said to unite the courage of the lion with the 
craftiness of the fox. He was free from any glaring vice, but 
reputed to be sordidly covetous and miserly, insomuch that he 
wore the same garment for several years. It was a saying in 
Arabia, that he was the first example of a man being at the 
same time brave and covetous; but the spoils of foreign conquest 
were fast corrupting the chivalrous spirit of the Arab conquerors. 
He was equally renowned for piety, being according to tradition 
so fixed and immovable in prayer, that a pigeon once perched 
upon his head, mistaking him for a statue. 

With the death of Abdallah ended the rival Caliphat, and 
the conquering general received the oaths of allegiance of the 
Arabs for Abd'almalec. His conduct, however, toward the 
people of Mecca and Medina was as cruel and oppressive as 
his military operations had been brilliant. He inflicted severe 
punishments for trivial offences, sometimes on mere suspicion ; 
and marked many with stamps of lead upon the neck, to dis- 
grace them in the public eye. His most popular act was the 
reconstruction of the dilapidated Caaba on the original form 
which it had borne before the era of the prophet. 

For a time the people of Mecca and Medina groaned under 
his tyranny, and looked back with repining to the gentler sway 
of Abdallah; and it was a cause of general joy throughout 
those cities, when the following circumstances caused him to be 
removed from their government, and promoted to a distant 
command. 

Though the death of Abdallah had rendered Abd'almalec 
sole sovereign of the Moslem empire, the emir of Khorassan, 
Abdallah Ibn Hazem, who had been appointed by his rival, 
hesitated to give in his allegiance. His province, so distant 
and great in extent, might make him a dangerous rebel ; Abd'- 
almalec, therefore, sent a messenger, claiming his oath of fealty, 
and proffering him, in reward, the government of Khorassan for 
seven years, with the enjoyment of all its revenues; at the same 
time, he sent him the head of the deceased Caliph, to intimate 
the fate he might expect should he prove refractory. 



240 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



The emir, instead of being intimidated, was filled with horror, 
and swore never to acknowledge Abd'amalec as Commander of 
the Faithful. He reverently washed and embalmed the head, 
folded it in fine linen, prayed over it, and sent it to the family 
of the deceased Caliph at Medina. Then summoning the mes- 
senger, he made him eat the epistle of Abd'almalec in his pre- 
sence, and dismissed him with the assurance that his sacred 
character of herald alone saved his head. 

It was to go against this refractory, but high-minded emir, 
that Al Hejagi was called off from his command in Arabia. 
He entered Khorassan with a powerful army, defeated the emir 
in repeated battles, and at length slew him, and reduced the 
province to obedience. 

The vigour, activity, and indomitable courage displayed by 
Al Hejagi in these various services, pointed him out as the very 
man to take charge of the government of Babylonia, or Irak, 
recently vacated by the death of the Caliph's brother Besher: 
and he was accordingly sent to break that refractory province 
into more thorough obedience. 

The province of Babylonia, though formerly a part of the 
Persian empire, had never been really Persian in character. 
Governed by viceroys, it had partaken of the alien feeling of a 
colony; forming a frontier between Persia and Arabia, and its 
population made up from both countries, it was deficient in the 
virtues of either. The inhabitants had neither the simplicity 
and loyalty of the Arabs of the desert, nor the refinement and 
cultivation of the Persians of the cities. Restless, turbulent, 
factious, they were ever ready to conspire against their rulers, 
to desert old faiths, and to adopt new sects and heresies. Be- 
fore the conquest by the Moslems, when Irak was governed by 
a Persian satrap, and Syria by an imperial prefect, a spirit of 
rivalry and hostility existed between these frontier provinces ; 
the same had revived during the division of the Caliphat ; and 
while Syria was zealous in its devotion to the house of Ommiah, 
Irak had espoused the cause of Ali. Even since the reunion 
and integrity of the Caliphat, it still remained a restless, un- 
steady part of the Moslem empire ; the embers of old seditions 
still lurked in its bosom, ready at any moment once more to 
burst forth into flame. We shall see how Al Hejagi fared in 
his government of that most combustible province. 



abd'almalec. 



241 



CHAPTER LIIL 

Al Hejagi, aware of the nature of the people over whom he 
was to rule, took possession of his government in military style. 
Riding into Cufa at the head of four thousand horse, he spurred 
on to the mosque, alighted at the portal, and ascending the 
pulpit, delivered an harangue to the multitude, that let them 
know the rigorous rule they w r ere to expect. He had come, 
he said, " to make the wicked man bear his own burden, and 
wear his own shoe ;" and, as he looked round on the densely- 
crowded assemblage, he intimated he saw before him turbaned 
heads ripe for mowing, and beards which required to be moist- 
ened with blood. 

His sermon was carried out in practice ; he ruled with a 
rigorous hand, swearing he would execute justice in a style 
that should put to shame all who had preceded, and serve as an 
example to ali who might follow him. He was especially severe, 
and even cruel, towards all w T ho had been in any way impli- 
cated in the assassination of the Caliph Othman. One person, 
against w 7 hom he came prepared to exercise the utmost severity, 
was the veteran Musa Ibn Nosseyr, who had officiated as prime 
minister to the deceased emir Besher. He had been accused of 
appropriating and squandering the taxes collected in the pro- 
vince, and the Caliph had lent a too ready ear to the accusation. 
Fortunately, the following letter, from a friend in Damascus, 
apprised Musa in time of his danger : 

"Thy deposition is signed; orders have been despatched to 
Al Hejagi to seize on thy person and inflict on thee the most 
severe punishment : so aw^ay ! away ! thy safety depends on the 
fleetness of thy horse. If thou succeed in placing thyself 
under the protection of Abd'alaziz Ibn Merwan, all will go well 
with thee." 

Musa lost no time, but motmted his steed and fled to Da- 
mascus, where Abd'alaziz was then sojourning, having arrived 
with the tribute of Egypt. Abd'alaziz received with protecting 
kindness the veteran adherent of the family, and accompanied 
him before the Caliph. "How dares t thou show thy beard 
here ?" exclaimed Abd'almalec. " Why should I hide it?" 
replied the veteran ; " what have I done to offend the Com- 
mander of the Faithful ?" " Thou hast disobeyed my orders, 
and squandered my treasures." "I did no such thing," replied 
Musa, firmly ; "I have always acted like a faithful subject ; my 

R 



242 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



intentions have been pure ; my actions true." " By Allah," 
cried the Caliph, "thou shalt make thy defalcation good fifty 
times over." The veteran was about to make an angry reply, 
but at a sign from Abd'alaziz, he checked himself, and bowing 
his head, " Thy will be done," said he, 68 oh, Commander of the 
Faithful." He was fined fifty thousand dinars of gold, which, 
however, Abd'alaziz enabled him to pay ; and, on his return to 
his government in Egypt, took his old favourite with him. 
How he further indemnified Musa for his maltreatment will be 
shown hereafter. 

To resume the affairs of Al Hejagi in Irak. Having exer- 
cised the rod of government in Cufa, he proceeded to Bassora, 
where he was equally sharp with his tongue, and heavy with 
his hand. The consequence was, as usual, an insurrection. 
This suited his humour. He was promptly in the field ; defeated 
the rebels in a pitched battle ; sent the heads of eighteen of 
their leaders to the Caliph, and then returned to the adminis- 
tration of affairs at Bassora. He afterwards sent two of his 
lieutenants to suppress a new movement among the Azarakite 
sectaries, who were defeated and driven out of the province. 

In the 76th year of the Hegira, a conspiracy was formed 
against the life of Abd'almalec, by two Karegite fanatics, named 
Shebib Ibn Zeid and Saleh Ibn Mari. Their conspiracy was 
discovered and defeated, but they made their escape and repaired 
to the town of Daras, in Mesopotamia, where they managed to 
get together adherents to the number of one hundred and 
twenty men. Saleh was smooth-tongued and seductive ; having 
a melodious voice and a great command of figurative lan- 
guage. He completely fascinated and bewildered his companion 
Shebib, and their infatuated followers, mingling his inflammatory 
harangues with pious precepts and expositions of the Koran. 
In the end he was hailed Commander of the Faithful by the 
motley crew T , and gravely accepted the office. His men were 
all armed, but most of them were on foot ; he, therefore, led 
them to a neighbouring village, where they seized upon the 
best horses in the name of Allah and the prophet, to whom they 
referred the owners for payment. 

Mahomet, brother of Abd'almalec, who was at that time 
emir of Mesopotamia, was moved to laughter when he heard of 
this new Caliph and his handful of rabble followers ; and ordered 
Adi, one of his officers, to take five hundred men and sweep 
them from the province. 



abd'al:\ialec. 



243 



Adi shook his head doubtfully, " One madman," said he, "is 
more dangerous than five soldiers in their senses. " 

"Take one thousand, then," said the emir; and with that 
number well armed and mounted, Adi set out in quest of the 
fanatics. He found them and their pseudo Caliph living in 
free quarters on the fat of the land, and daily receiving recruits 
in straggling parties of two, and three, and four at a time, armed 
with such weapons as they could catch up in their haste. On 
the approach of Adi they prepared for battle, having full con- 
fidence that a legion of angels would fight on their side. 

Adi held a parley, and endeavoured to convince them of the 
absurdity of their proceedings, or to persuade them to carry 
their marauding enterprises elsewhere ; but Saleh, assuming the 
tone of Caliph as well as sectarian, admonished Adi and his 
men to conform to his doctrines, and come into his allegiance. 
The conference ended while it was yet the morning hour. Adi 
still forbore to attack such a handful of misguided men, and 
paid dearly for his forbearance. At noontide, when he and his 
men were engaged in the customary prayer, and their steeds 
were feeding, the enthusiast band charged suddenly upon them 
with the cry of Allah Achbar ! Adi was slain in the onset, and 
his body was trampled under foot ; his troops were slaughtered 
or dispersed, and his camp and horses, with a good supply of 
arms, became welcome booty to the victors. 

The band of sectarians increased in numbers and in daring 
after this signal exploit. Al Hejagi sent five thousand veteran 
troops against them, under Al Hareth Alamdani. These came 
by surprise upon the two leaders, Saleh and Shebib, with a 
party of only ninety men, at a village on the Tigris, not far 
from Mosul, the capital of Mesopotamia. The fanatic chiefs 
attacked the army with a kind of frantic courage, but Saleh, 
the mock Caliph, was instantly killed, with a score of his fol- 
lowers. Shebib was struck from his horse, but managed to 
keep together the remnant of his party, made good his retreat 
with them into Montbagi, a dismantled fortress, and swung to 
and secured the ponderous gate. 

The victors kindled a great fire against the gate, and waited 
patiently until it should burn down, considering their prey 
secure. 

As the night advanced, Shebib, who from his desolate re- 
treat w r atched anxiously for some chance of escape, perceived, by 
the light of the fire, that the greater part of the besiegers, 

r2 



244 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



fatigued by their march, were buried iu deep sleep. He now 
exacted from his men an oath of implicit obedience, which they 
took between his hands. He then caused them to steep most of 
their clothing in a tank of water within the castle, after which, 
softly drawing the bolts of the flaming gate, they threw it down 
on the fire kindled against it, flung their wet garments on the 
burning bridge thus suddenly formed, and rushed forth, scimetar 
in hand. 

Instead of contenting themselves with an escape, the crazy 
zealots charged into the very heart of the sleeping camp, and 
wounded the general before an alarm was given. The soldiers 
started awake in the midst of havoc and confusion. Supposing 
themselves surprised by a numerous army, they fled in all direc- 
tions, never ceasing their flight until they had taken refuge in 
Mosul or Jukhi, or some other walled city. 

Shebib established himself amid the abundance of the de- 
serted camp. Scarce any of his men had been killed or wounded 
in this midnight slaughter. He considered himself, therefore, 
invincible, proclaimed himself Commander of the Faithful, and 
partisans crowded to his standard. Strengthened by numbers, 
he led his fanatic horde against Cufa, and had the address and 
good fortune to make himself master of it, Al Hejagi, the emir, 
being absent at Bassora. He was soon joined by his wife, 
Gazala ; established himself as Caliph with some ceremonial ; 
and doubtless his vagabond sway was more acceptable to the 
people of Cufa than the iron rule of Al Hejagi. 

The mock Caliphat, however, was of brief duration. Al 
Hejagi, reinforced by troops from Syria, marched in person 
against Cufa. He was boldly met in the plains near that city 
by Shebib, at the head of four thousand men. The fanatics 
were defeated, and Gazala, the wife of the mock Caliph, who 
had accompanied her husband to the field, was slain, Shebib 
with a remnant of his force, cut his way through the Syrian 
army ; crossed and recrossed the Tigris, and sought refuge and 
reinforcements in the interior of Persia. He soon returned into 
Irak, with a force inconsiderable in numbers, but formidable for 
enthusiasm and desperate valour. He was encountered at the 
bridge of Dojail al Aw T az. Here a sudden and unexpected end 
w^as put to his fanatic career. His horse struck his forefeet on 
some loose stones on the margin of the bridge, and threw his 
rider into the stream. He rose twice to the surface, and each 
time uttered a pious ejaculation. " What God decrees is just !" 



abd'alvtalec. 



245 



was the first exclamation. u The will of God be done!'' was 
the second, and the waters closed over him. His followers cried 
with loud lamentations, " The Commander of the Faithful is no 
more!" and every man betook himself to flight. The water 
was dragged with a net, the body was found and decapitated, 
and the head sent to Al Hejagi, who transmitted it to the 
Caliph. The heart of this enthusiast was also taken out of his 
breast, and is said to have been as hard as stone. He was as- 
suredly a man of extraordinary daring. 

Arabian writers say that the manner of Shebib's death was 
predicted before his birth. His mother was a beautiful Chris- 
tian captive, purchased at a public sale by Yezid Ibn Nairn for 
his harem. Just before she gave birth to Shebib, she had a 
dream that a coal of fire proceeded from her, and after en- 
kindling a flame over the firmament, fell into the sea and was 
extinguished. This dream was interpreted that she would give 
birth to a man-child, who would prove a distinguished warrior, 
but would eventually be drowned. So strong was her belief in 
this omen, that when she heard, on one occasion, of his defeat 
and of his alleged death on the battle-field, she treated the 
tidings as an idle rumour, saying it was by water only her son 
would die. At the time of Shebib's death he had just passed 
his fiftieth year. 

The emir Al Hejagi was destined to have still further com- 
motions in his turbulent and inconstant province. A violent 
feud existed between him and Abda'lrahman Ibn Mohammed, 
a general subject to his orders. To put an end to it, or to re- 
lieve himself from the presence of an enemy, he sent him on an 
expedition to the frontiers against the Turks, i^bda'lrahman 
set out on his march, but when fairly in the field, with a force 
at his command, conceived a project either of revenge or 
ambition. 

Addressing his soldiers in a spirited harangue, he told them 
that their numbers were totally inadequate to the enterprise ; 
that the object of Al Hejagi in sending him on such a danger- 
ous service with such incompetent means, was to effect his de- 
feat and ruin, and that they had been sent to be sacrificed with 
him. 

The harangue produced the desired effect. The troops 
vowed devotion to Abda'lrahman and vengeance upon the emir. 
Without giving their passion time to cool, he led them back to 
put their threats in execution. Al Hejagi heard of the treason, 



246 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



and took the field to meet them, but probably was not well 
seconded by the people of Babylonia, for he was defeated in a 
pitched battle. Abda'lrahman then marched to the city of 
Bassora; the inhabitants welcomed him as their deliverer from 
a tyrant, and, captivated by his humane and engaging manners, 
hailed him as Caliph. Intoxicated by his success, he gravely 
assumed the title, and proceeded toward Cufa. Encountering 
Al Hejagi on the way, with a hastily levied army, he gave him 
another signal defeat, and then entered Cufa in triumph, amid 
the shouts of its giddy populace, who were delighted with any 
change that released them from the yoke of Al Hejagi. 

Abda'lrahman was now acknowledged Caliph throughout the 
territories bordering on the Euphrates and the Tigris, a mighty 
empire in ancient days, and still important from its population, 
for he soon had on foot an army of one hundred thousand men. 

Repeated defeat had but served to rouse the energy of Al 
Hejagi. He raised troops among such of the people of Irak 
as remained faithful to Abd'almalec ; received reinforcements 
from the Caliph, and by dint of indefatigable exertions was 
again enabled to take the field. 

The two generals, animated by deadly hate, encamped their 
armies at places not far apart. Here they remained between 
three and four months, keeping vigilant eye upon each other, 
and engaged in incessant conflicts, though never venturing upon 
a pitched battle. 

The object of Al Hejagi was to gain an advantage by his 
superior military skill, and he succeeded. By an artful manoeuvre 
he cut off Abda'lrahman, with a body of five thousand men. 
from his main army; compelled him to retreat, and drove him 
to take refuge in a fortified town ; where, being closely be- 
sieged, and having no hope of escape, he threw himself headlong 
from a lofty tower, rather than fall into the hands of his cruel 
enemy. 

Thus terminated the rebellion of this second mock Caliph, 
and Al Hejagi, to secure the tranquillity of Irak, founded a 
strong city on the Tigris, called Al Wazab, or the Centre, from 
its lying at equal distance from Cufa, Bassora, Bagdad, and 
Ahwaz, about fifty leagues from each. 

Al Hejagi, whom we shall have no further occasion to men- 
tion, continued emir of Irak until his death, which took place 
under the reign of the next Caliph, in the ninety-fifth year of 
the Hegira, and the fifty-fourth of his own age. He is said to 



abd'almalec. 



247 



have caused the death of one hundred and twenty thousand 
persons, independent of those who fell in battle, and that, at the 
time of his death, he left fifty thousand confined in different 
prisons. Can we wonder that he was detested as a tyrant ? 

In his last illness, say the Arabian historians, he sent for a 
noted astrologer, and asked him whether any great general was 
about to end his days. The learned man consulted the stars, 
and replied, that a great captain named Kotaib, or ' -'The Dog," 
was at the point of death. " That," said the dying emir, "is 
the name my mother used to call me when a child." He 
inquired of the astrologer if he was assured of his prediction. 
The sage, proud of his art, declared that it was infallible. 
" Then," said the emir, " I will take you with me, that I may 
have the benefit of your skill in the other world." So saving, 
he caused his head to be struck off. 

The tyranny of this general was relieved at times by dis- 
plays of great magnificence and acts of generosity, if not 
clemency. He spread a thousand tables at a single banquet, 
and bestowed a million dirhems of silver at a single donation. 

On one occasion, an Arab, ignorant of his person, spoke of 
him, in Ins presence, as a cruel tyrant. " Do you know me ?" 
said Al Hejagi, sternly. " I do not," replied the Arab. " I 
am Al Hejagi!" " That may be," replied the Arab, quickly ; 
"but do you know me? I am of the family of Zobeir, who are 
fools in the full of the moon ; and if vou look upon the heavens 
you will see that this is my day." The emir laughed at his 
ready wit, and dismissed him with a present. 

On another occasion, wdien separated from his party while 
hunting, he came to a spring where an Arab was feeding his 
camels, and demanded drink. The Arab bade him, rudely, to 
alight and help himself. It was during the rebellion of Ab- 
daTrahinan. After he had slaked his thirst, he demanded of the 
Arab whether he was for the Caliph Abd'almaiec. The Arab 
replied " no ; for the Caliph had sent the worst man in the 
world to govern the province." Just then a bird, passing over 
head, uttered a croaking note. The Arab turned a quick eye 
upon the emir — "Who art thou?" cried he, with consternation. 
" Wherefore the question?" " Because I understand the lan- 
guage of birds, and he savs that thou art chief of yon horse- 
men that I see approaching." 

The emir smiled, and when his attendants came up, bade 
them to bring the camel-driver with them. On the next day 



248 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



he sent for him. had meat set before him. and bade him eat. 
Before he complied the Arab uttered a grace. ". Allah, grant 
that the end of this meal be as happy as the beginning." 

The emir inquired if he recollected their conversation of 
vesterdav. " Perfectly ! but I entreat thee to forget it, for it 
was a secret which should be buried in oblivion." 

" Here are two conditions for thy choice," said the emir; 
"recant what thou hast said and enter into my service, or 
abide the decision of the Caliph, to whom thy treasonable 
speech shall be repeated." " There is a third course." replied 
the Arab. which is better than either. Send me to my own 
home, and let us be strangers to each other as heretofore." 

The emir was amused by the spirit of the Arab, and dis- 
missed him with a thousand dirhems of silver. 

There were no further troubles in Irak during the lifetime 
of Al Hejagi, and even the fickle, turbulent, and faithless 
people of Cufa became submissive and obedient. Abulfaragius 
says that this general died of eating dirt. It appears that he 
was subject to dyspepsia or indigestion, for which he used to 
eat Terra Lernnia, and other medicinal or absorbent earths. 
Whether he fell a victim to the malady or the medicine is not 
clearlv manifest. 

CHAPTER LIV, 

The seventv-second year of the Hegira saw the 3Ioslem 
dominions at length free from rebellion and civil war, and 
united under one Caliph. Abd'almalec now looked abroad, 
and was anxious to revive the foreign glories of Islam, which 
had declined during- the late vicissitudes. His first movement 
was to throw off the galling tribute to the Greek emperor. 
This, under 3Ioawyah I., had originally been three thousand 
dinars of gold, but had been augmented to three hundred and 
sixty-five thousand; being one thousand for every day in the 
Christian year. It was accompanied by three hundred and 
sixty-five female slaves, and three hundred and sixty-five 
Arabian horses of the most generous race. 

Not content with renouncing the payment of tribute, Abd'- 
almalec sent Alid, one of his generals, on a ravaging expedition 
into the imperial dominions, availing himself of a disaffection 
evinced to the new emperor Leontius. Alid returned laden 
with spoils. The cities of Lazuca and Baruncium were like- 
wise delivered up to the ^Moslems, through the treachery of 
Sergius, a Christian general. 



abd'alivialec. 



249 



Abd'aknalec next sought to vindicate the glory of the Mos- 
lem arras along the northern coast of Africa. There, also, 
the imperialists had taken advantage of the troubles of the 
Caliphat to reverse the former successes of the Moslems, and 
to strengthen themselves along the sea-coast, of which their 
navy aided them to hold possession. Zohair, who had been 
left by Abd'aknalec in command of Barca, had fallen into an 
ambush, and been slain with many of his men, and the posts 
still held by the Moslems were chiefly in the interior. 

In the seventy-seventh year of the Hegira, therefore, Abd'- 
almalec sent Hossan Ibn An-no'man, at the head of forty 
thousand choice troops, to carry out the scheme of African 
conquest. That general pressed forward at once with his 
troops against the city of Carthage, which, though declined 
from its ancient might and glory, was still an important sea- 
port, fortified with lofty walls, haughty towers, and powerful 
bulwarks, and had a numerous garrison of Greeks and other 
Christians. Hossan proceeded according to the old Arab mode; 
beleaguering it, and reducing it by a long siege ; he then 
assailed it by storm, scaled its lofty wails with ladders, and 
made himself master of the place. Many of the inhabitants 
fell by the edge of the sword ; many escaped by sea to Sicily 
and Spain. The walls were then demolished; the city was 
given up to be plundered by the soldiery, the meanest of whom 
was enriched by booty. Particular mention is made among 
the spoils of victory of a great number of female captives of 
rare beauty. 

The triumph of the Moslem host was suddenly interrupted. 
While they were revelling in the ravaged palaces of Carthage, 
a fleet appeared before the port ; snapped the strong chain 
which guarded the entrance, and sailed into the harbour. It 
was a combined force of ships and troops from Constantinople 
and Sicily, reinforced bv Goths from Spain ; all under the com- 
mand of the prefect John, a patrician general of great valour 
and experience. 

Hossan felt himself unable to cope with such a force; he 
withdrew, however, in good order, and conducted his troops 
laden with spoils to Tripoli and Caerwan, and, having* strongly 
posted them, he awaited reinforcements from the Caliph. 
These arrived in the course of time, by sea and land. Hossan 
again took the field, encountered the prefect John not far 
from Utica, defeated him in a pitched battle, and drove him 



250 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



to embark the wrecks of his army, and make all sail for Con- 
stantinople. 

Carthage was again assailed by the victors, and now its 
desolation was complete, for the vengeance of the Moslems gave 
that majestic city to the flames. A heap of rains and the re- 
mains of a noble aqueduct are all the relics of a metropolis that 
once valiantly contended for dominion with Rome, the mistress 
of the world. 

The imperial forces were now expelled from the coasts of 
Northern Africa, but the Moslems had not yet achieved the 
conquest of the country. A formidable enemy remained in the 
person of a native and heroic queen, who was revered by her 
subjects as a saint or prophetess. Her real name was Dhabba, 
but she is generally known in history by the surname, given to 
her by the Moslems, of Cahina or the Sorceress. She has 
occasionally been confounded with her son Aben, or rather Ibn 
Cahina, of whom mention has been made in a previous chapter. 

Under the sacred standard of this prophet queen were com- 
bined the Moors of Mauritania and the Berbers of the moun- 
tains, and of the plains bordering on the interior deserts. 
Roving and independent tribes, which had formerly warred with 
each other, now yielded implicit obedience to one common 
leader, whom they regarded with religious reverence. The 
character of marabout or saint has ever had vast influence over 
the tribes of Africa. Under this heroic woman the combined 
host had been reduced to some degree of discipline, and inspired 
with patriotic ardour, and were now prepared to make a more 
effective struggle for their native land than they had yet done 
under their generals. 

After repeated battles, the emir Hossan was compelled to 
retire with his veteran but diminished army to the frontiers of 
Egypt. The patriot queen was not satisfied with this partial 
success. Calling a council of war of the leaders and principal 
warriors of the different hordes: "This retreat of the enemy," 
said she, "is but temporary; they will return in greater force. 
What is it that attracts to our land these Arab spoilers? The 
wealth of our cities; the treasures of silver and gold digged 
from the bowels of the earth; the fruits of our gardens and 
orchards; the produce of our fields. Let us demolish our cities; 
return these accursed treasures into the earth; fell our fruit 
trees; lay waste our fields, and spread a barrier of desolation 
between us and the country of these robbers!" 



ABD ALMALEC. 



251 



The words of the royal prophetess were received with fanatic 
enthusiasm by her barbarian troops; the greater part of whom, 
collected from the mountains and from distant parts, had little 
share in the property to be sacrificed. Walled towns were 
forthwith dismantled; majestic edifices were tumbled into ruins; 
groves of fruit trees were hewn down, and the whole country 
from Tangier to Tripoli was converted from a populous and 
fertile region into a howling and barren waste. A short time 
was sufficient to effect a desolation, which centuries have not 
sufficed to remedy. 

This sacrificial measure of Queen Cahina, however patriotic 
its intention, was fatal in the end to herself. The inhabitants 
of the cities and the plains, who had beheld their property laid 
waste by the infuriated zeal of their defenders, hailed the return 
of the Moslem invaders as though they had been the saviours of 
the land. 

The Moslems, as Cahina predicted, returned w T ith augmented 
forces : but w T hen she took the field to oppose them, the ranks 
of her army were thinned ; the enthusiasm which had formerly 
animated them was at an end : they were routed, after a san- 
guinary battle, and the heroine fell into the hands of the enemy. 
Those who captured her spared her life, because she w 7 as a 
woman and a queen. When brought into the presence of 
Hossan she maintained her haughty and fierce demeanour. He 
proposed the usual conditions, of conversion or tribute. She 
refused both with scorn, and fell a victim to her patriotism and 
religious constancy, being beheaded in presence of the emir. 

Hossan Ibn An-no'man now repaired to Damascus, to give 
the Caliph an account of his battles and victories ; bearing an 
immense amount of booty, and several signal trophies. The 
most important of the latter was a precious box, containing the 
embalmed head of the slaughtered Cahina. He was received 
with great distinction, loaded with honours, and the govern- 
ment of Barca was added to his military command. 

This last honour proved fatal to Hossan. Abd'alaziz Ibn 
Merwan, the Caliph's brother, was at that time emir of Egypt, 
and considered the province of Barca a part of the territories 
under his government. He had, accordingly, appointed one of 
his officers to command it as his lieutenant. He was extremely 
displeased and disconcerted, therefore, when he was told that 
Hossan had solicited and obtained the government of that 
province. Sending for the latter, as he passed through Eg\ pt 



252 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



on his way to his post, he demanded whether it was true that 
in addition to his African command, he was really appointed 
governor of Barca. Being answered in the affirmative, he 
appeared still to doubt ; whereupon Hossan produced the man- 
date of the Caliph. Finding it correct, Abd'alaziz urged him 
to resign the office. " Violence only," said Hossan, u shall wrest 
from me an honour conferred by the Commander of the Faith- 
ful." " Then I deprive thee of both governments," exclaimed 
the emir, in a passion, " and will appoint a better man in thy 
stead ; and my brother will soon perceive the benefit he derives 
from the change." So saying, he tore the diploma in pieces. 

It is added that, not content with depriving Hossan of his 
command, he despoiled him of all his property, and carried his 
persecution so far, that the conqueror of Carthage, the slayer 
of the patriot queen, within a brief time after her death, and 
almost amid the very scenes of his triumphs, died of a broken 
heart. His cruel treatment of the heroic Cahina reconciles us 
to the injustice wreaked upon himself. 

CHAPTER LV. 
The general appointed by the Caliph's brother, Abd'alaziz 
Ibn Merwan, to the command in Northern Africa, was Musa 
Ibn Nosseyr, the same old adherent of the Merwan family that 
had been prime counsellor of the Caliph's brother Besher, when 
emir of Irak, and had escaped by dint of hoof from the clutches 
of Al Hejagi, when the latter was about to arrest him on a 
charge of squandering the public funds. Abd'alaziz, it will be 
remembered, assisted him to pay the fifty thousand dinars of 
gold, in which be was mulcted by the Caliph, and took him with 
him to Egypt ; and it may have been with some view to self- 
reimbursement, that the Egyptian emir now took the some- 
what bold step of giving him the place assigned to Hossan, by 
Abd'almalec. 

At the time of his appointment, Musa was sixty years of age. 
He was still active and vigorous ; of noble presence, and con- 
cealed his age by tinging his hair and beard with henna. He 
had three brave sons who aided him in his campaigns, and in 
whom he took great pride. The eldest he had named Abd'alaziz, 
after his patron ; he was brave and magnanimous, in the fresh- 
ness of his youth, and his father's right hand in all his enter- 
prises. Another of his sons he had called Merwan, the family 
name of Abd'alaziz and the Caliph. 



abd'almalix. 



253 



Musa joined the army at its xAfrican encampment, and ad- 
dressed his troops in frank and simple language. " I am a 
plain soldier like yourselves," said he ; " whenever I act well, 
thank God, and endeavour to imitate me. When I do wrong, 
reprove me, that I may amend ; for we are all sinners and liable 
to err. If any one has at any time a complaint to make, let 
him state it frankly, and it shall be attended to. I have orders 
from the emir Abd'alaziz (to whom God be bountiful !) to pay 
you three times the amount of your arrears. Take it, and 
make good use of it." It is needless to say, that the address, 
especially the last part, was received with acclamations. 

While Musa was making his harangue, a sparrow fluttered 
into his bosom. Interpreting it as a good omen, he called for 
a knife ; cut off the bird's head ; besmeared the bosom of his 
vest with the blood, and scattering the feathers in the air above 
his head — "Victory! Victory!" he cried; "by the master of 
the Caaba, victory is ours !" 

It is evident that Musa understood the character and foibles 
of his troops ; he soon won their favour by his munificence, and 
still more by his affability ; always accosting them with kind 
words and cheerful looks ; carefully avoiding the error of those 
reserved commanders, shut up in the fancied dignity of station, 
who looked, he said, " as if God had tied a knot in their throats, 
so that they could not utter a word." 

" A commander," he used to say, " ought to consult wise 
and experienced men in every undertaking ; but when he has 
made up his mind, he should be firm and steady of purpose. 
He should be brave, adventurous, at times even rash, confiding 
in his good fortune, and endeavouring to do more than is 
expected of him. He should be doubly cautious after victory; 
doubly brave after defeat." 

Musa found a part of Eastern Africa,* forming the present 
states of Tunis and Algiers, in complete confusion and insur- 
rection. A Berber chief, Warkattaf by name, scoured, night 
and day, the land between Zaghwan and Caerwan. The Berbers 
had this advantage ; if routed in the plains, they took refuge in 
the mountains, which ran parallel to the coast, forming part of 
the great chain of Atlas ; in the fastnesses of these mountains 
they felt themselves secure ; but should they be driven out of 

* Northern Africa, extending from Egypt to the extremity of Mau- 
ritania, was subdivided into Eastern and Western Africa. 



254 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



these, they could plunge into the boundless deserts of the in- 
terior, and bid defiance to pursuit. 

The energy of Musa rose with the difficulty of his enterprise. 

Take courage," would he say to his troops. " God is on 
our side, and will enable us to cope with our enemies, however 
strong their holds. By Allah ! I'll carry the war into von 
haughty mountains, nor cease until we have seized upon their 
passes, surmounted their summits, and made ourselves masters 
of the country beyond." 

His words were not an empty threat. Having vanquished 
the Berbers in the plains, he sent his sons Abd'alaziz and Mer- 
wan with troops in different directions, who attacked the enemy 
in their mountain-holds, and drove them beyond to the borders 
of the Southern desert. Warkattaf was slain with many of his 
warriors, and Musa had the gratification of seeing his sons 
return triumphant from their different expeditions, bringing to 
the camp thousands of captives and immense booty. Indeed 
the number of prisoners of both sexes, taken in these cam- 
paigns, is said to have amounted to three hundred thousand ; of 
whom one-fifth, or sixty thousand, formed the Caliph's share. 

Musa hastened to write an account of his victories to his 
patron Abd'alaziz Ibn Merw&n, and as he knew covetousness 
to be the prime failing of the emir, he sent him, at the same 
time, a great share of the spoils, with choice horses and female 
slaves of surpassing beauty. 

The letter and the present came most opportunely. Abd'alaziz 
had just received a letter from his brother, the Caliph, rebuking 
him for having deposed Hossan, a brave, experienced, and for- 
tunate officer, and given his office to Musa, a man who had 
formerly incurred the displeasure of the government ; and he 
was ordered forthwith to restore Hossan to his command. 

In reply, Abd'alaziz transmitted the news of the African 
victories. " I have just received from Musa," writes he, " the 
letter which I inclose, that thou may est peruse it, and give 
thanks to God." 

Other tidings came to the same purport, accompanied by 
a great amount of booty. The Caliph's feelings toward Musa 
immediately changed. He at once saw his fitness for the post 
he occupied, and confirmed the appointment of Abd'alaziz, 
making him emir of Africa. He, moreover, granted yearly 
pensions of two hundred pieces of gold to himself, and one 
hundred to each of his sons, and directed him to select from 



abd'ai^ialec. 



255 



among his soldiers five hundred of those who had most distin- 
guished themselves in battle, or received most wounds, and give 
them each thirty pieces of gold. Lastly, he revoked the fine 
formerly imposed upon him of fifty thousand dinars of gold, and 
authorised him to reimburse himself out of the Caliph's share 
of the spoil. 

This last sum Musa declined to receive for his own benefit, 
but publicly devoted it to the promotion of the faith, and the 
good of its professors. Whenever a number of captives were 
put up for sale after a victory, he chose from among them those 
who were young, vigorous, intelligent, of noble origin, and who 
appeared disposed to be instructed in the religion cf Islam. If 
they were converted, and proved to have sufficient talent, he 
gave them their liberty, and appointed them to commands in 
his army ; if otherwise, he returned them to the mass of captives, 
to be disposed of in the usual manner. 

The fame of Musa's victories, and of the immense spoil col- 
lected by his troops, brought recruits to his standard from Egypt 
and Syria, and other distant parts ; for rapine was becoming 
more and more the predominant passion of the Moslems. The 
army of Musa was no longer composed, like the primitive 
armies of the faith, merely of religious zealots. The campaigns 
in foreign countries, and the necessity, at distant points, of re- 
cruiting the diminished ranks from such sources as were at 
hand, had relaxed the ancient scruples, as to unity of faith, and 
men of different creeds now fought under the standard of Islam 
without being purified by conversion. The army was, there- 
fore, a motley host of every country and kind ; Arabs and 
Syrians, Persians and Copts, and nomadic Africans, arrayed in 
every kind of garb, and armed with every kind of weapon. 
Itfusa had succeeded in enlisting in his service many of the 
native tribes ; a few of them were Christians, a greater propor- 
tion idolaters, but the greatest number professed Judaism. 
They readily amalgamated with the Arabs, having the same 
nomad habits, and the same love of war and rapine. They 
even traced their origin to the same Asiatic stock. According 
to their traditions, five colonies, or tribes, came in ancient times 
from Sabsea, in Arabia the Happy ; being expelled thence with 
their king Ifrique. From these descended the five most power- 
ful Berber tribes, the Zenhagians, Muzamudas, Zenetes, Gomeres 
and Hoares. 

Musa artfully availed himself of these traditions ; addressed 



256 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



the conquered Berbers as Aulad-arabi (sons of the Arabs), and 
so soothed their pride by this pretended consanguinity, that 
many readily embraced the Moslem faith, and thousands of 
the bravest men of Numidia enrolled themselves, of their own 
free will, in the armies of Islam. 

Others, however, persisted in waging stubborn w r ar with the 
invaders of their country, and among these the most powerful 
and intrepid were the Zenetes. They were a free, independent, 
and haughty race. Marmol, in his description of Africa, re- 
presents them as inhabiting various parts of the country. Some 
leading a roving life about the plains, living in tents like the 
Arabs; others having castles and strongholds in the mountains; 
others, very troglodytes, infesting the dens and caves of Mount 
Atlas, and others wandering on the borders of the Libyan 
desert. 

The Gomeres were also a valiant and warlike tribe, inhabit- 
ing the mountains of the lesser Atlas, in Mauritania, bordering 
the frontiers of Ceuta, while the Muzamudas lived in the more 
western part of that extreme province, where the great Atlas 
advances into the Atlantic Ocean. 

In the eighty-third year of the Hegira, Musa made one of 
his severest campaigns against a combined force of these Ber- 
ber tribes, collected under the banners of their several princes. 
They had posted themselves in one of the fastnesses of the 
Atlas mountains, to which the only approach was through dif- 
ferent gorges and defiles. All these were defended with great 
obstinacy, but were carried, one after the other, after several 
days of severe fighting. 

The armies at length found themselves in presence of each 
other, when a general conflict was unavoidable. As they were 
drawn out, regarding each other with menacing aspect, a 
Berber chief advanced, and challenged any one of the Moslem 
cavaliers to single combat. There was a delay in answering to 
the challenge ; whereupon Musa turned to his son Merwan, who 
had charge of the banners, and told him to meet the Berber 
warrior. The youth handed his banner to his brother Abd'- 
alaziz, and stepped forward with alacrity. The Berber, a stark 
and seasoned warrior of the mountains, regarded with surprise, 
and almost scorn, an opponent scarce arrived at manhood. 
" Return to the camp," cried he, " I would not deprive thine 
aged father of so comely a son." Merwan replied but with his 
weapon, assailing his adversary so vigorously, that he retreated 



abd'almalec. 



257 



and sprang 1 upon his horse. He now urged his steed upon the 
youth, and made a thrust at him with a javelin, but Merwan 
seized the weapon with one hand, and with the other thrust 
his own javelin through the Berber's side, burying it in the 
flanks of the steed ; so that both horse and rider were brought 
to the ground and slain. 

The two armies now closed in a general struggle ; it was 
bloody and desperate, but ended in the complete defeat of the 
Berbers. Kasleyah, their king, fell, fighting to the last. A 
vast number of captives were taken ; among them were many 
beautiful maidens, daughters of princes and military chiefs, At 
the division of the spoil, Musa caused these high-born damsels 
to stand before him, and bade Merwan, his son, who had so 
recently distinguished himself, to choose among them. The 
youth chose one who was a daughter of the late king Kasleyah. 
She appears to have found solace for the loss of her father in 
the arms of a youthful husband ; and ultimately made Merwan 
the father of two sons, Musa and Abd'almalec. 

CHAPTER LYI. 

The bold and adventurous spirit of Musa Ibn Xosseyr was 
not content with victories on land. u Always endeavour to do 
more than is expected of thee," was his maxim, and he now 
aspired to achieve triumphs on the sea. He had ports within 
his province, whence the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, in the 
days of their power, had fitted out maritime enterprises. ^Yhv 
should he not do the same ? 

The feelings of the Arab conquerors had widely changed in 
regard to naval expeditions. When Amru, the conqueror of 
Egypt, was at Alexandria, the Caliph Omar required of him a 
description of the Mediterranean. "It is a great pool," replied 
Amru, " which some foolhardy people furrow, looking like ants 
on logs of wood." The answer was enough for Omar, who was 
always apprehensive that the Moslems would endanger their 
conquests by rashly-extended enterprises. He forbade all mari- 
time expeditions. Perhaps he feared that the inexperience of 
the Arabs would expose them to defeat from the Franks and 
Remans, who were practised navigators. 

Moawyah, however, as we have shown, more confident of the 
Moslem capacity for nautical warfare, had launched the banner 
of Islam on the sea from the ancient ports of Tyre and Sidon, 
and had scoured the eastern waters of the Mediterranean. The 
Moslems now had armaments in various ports of Syria and Egypt, 

s 



258 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



and warred with the Christians by sea as well as by land. 
Abd'almalec had even ordered Musa's predecessor, Hossan, to 
erect an arsenal at Tunis ; Musa now undertook to carry those 
orders into effect; to found dock-yards, and to build a fleet for 
his proposed enterprise. 

At the outset he was surrounded by those sage doubters who 
are ever ready to chill the ardour of enterprise. They pro- 
nounced the scheme rash and impracticable. A grey-headed 
Berber, who had been converted to Islam, spoke in a different 
tone. "I am one hundred and twenty years old," said he, 
"and I well remember hearing my father say, that when the 
Lord of Carthage thought of building his city, the people all, 
as at present, exclaimed against it as impracticable; one alone 
rose and said, oh king, put thy hand to the work and it will 
be achieved; for the kings thy predecessors persevered and 
achieved everything they undertook, whatever might be the 
difficulty. And I say to thee, oh emir, put thy hand to this 
work, and God will help thee!" 

Musa did put his hand to the work, and so effectually, that 
by the conclusion of the eighty-fourth year of the Hegira, a.d. 
703, the arsenal and dock-yard were complete, and furnished 
with maritime stores, and there was a numerous fleet in the 
port of Tunis. 

About this time a Moslem fleet, sent by Abd'alaziz, the emir 
of Egypt, to make a ravaging descent on the coast of Sar- 
dinia, entered the port of Susa, which is between Caerwan and 
Tunis. Musa sent provisions to the fleet, but wrote to the 
commander, Atta Ibn Rafi, cautioning him that the season was 
too late for his enterprise, and advising him to remain in port 
until more favourable time and weather. 

Atta treated his letter with contempt, as the advice of a 
landsman: and having refitted his vessels, put to sea. He 
landed on an island, called by the Arab writers, Salsalah, 
probably Linosa or Lampedosa; made considerable booty of 
gold, silver, and precious stones, and again set sail on his plun- 
dering cruise. A violent storm arose, his ships were dashed on 
the rocky coast of Africa, and he and nearly all his men were 
drowned. 

Musa, hearing of the disaster, despatched his son, Abd'alaziz, 
with a troop of horse to the scene of the shipwreck, to render 
all the assistance in his power; ordering that the vessels and 
crews which survived the storm, should repair to the port of 
Tunis; all which was done. At the place of the wreck Abd- 



abd'almalec. 



259 



'alaziz found a heavy box cast up on the sea-shore; on being 
opened, its contents proved to be the share of spoil of one of the 
warriors of the fleet, who had perished in the sea. 

The author of the tradition from which these facts are 
gleaned, adds, that one day he found an old man sitting on the 
sea-shore with a reed in his hand, which he attempted to take 
from him. A scuffle ensued; he wrested the reed from his 
hands, and struck him with it over his head ; when lo, it broke, 
and out fell gold coins and pearls and precious stones. Whe- 
ther the old man, thus hardly treated, was one of the wrecked 
cruisers, or a wrecker, seeking to profit by their misfortunes, 
is not specified in the tradition. The anecdote shows in what 
a random way the treasures of the earth were in those days 
scattered about the world by the predatory hosts of Islam. 

The surviving ships having been repaired, and added to 
those recently built at Tunis, and the season having become 
favourable, Musa, early in the eighty-fifth year of the Hegira, 
declared his intention to undertake, in person, a naval expedi- 
tion. There was a universal eagerness among the troops to 
embark ; Musa selected about a thousand of the choicest of his 
warriors, especially those of rank and family, so that the enter- 
prise was afterwards designated The Expedition of the Xobles. 
He did not, however, accompany it as he had promised ; he 
had done so merely to enlist his bravest men in the undertaking; 
the command was given to his son, Abdolola, to give him an 
opportunity to distinguish himself; for the reputation of his 
sons was as dear to Musa as his own. 

It was, however, a mere predatory cruise ; a type of the 
ravaging piracies from the African ports in after ages. Ab- 
dolola coasted the fair island of Sicily with his ships, landed 
on the western side, and plundered a city which yielded such 
abundant spoil, that each of the thousand men embarked in the 
cruise received one hundred dinars of gold for his share. This 
done, the fleet returned to Africa. 

Soon after the return of his ships, Musa received news of the 
death of his patron Abd'alaziz, which was followed soon after 
by tidings of the death of the Caliph. On hearing of the death 
of the latter, Musa immediately sent a messenger to Damascus 
to take the oath of allegiance, in his name, to the new Caliph ; 
to inform him of the naval achievements of his son Abdolola, 
and to deliver to him his share of the immense booty gained. 
The effect of course was to secure his continuance in office as 
emir of Africa. 



260 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



The malady which terminated in the death of Abd'almalec 
is supposed to have been the dropsy. It was attended in its 
last stages with excessive thirst, which was aggravated by the 
prohibition of his physicians that any water should be given 
to him, lest it should cause certain death. In the paroxysms 
of his malady the expiring Caliph demanded water of his son 
Waled; it was withheld through filial piety. His daughter. 
Fatima, approached with a flagon, but Waled interfered and 
prevented her ; whereupon the Caliph threatened him with dis- 
inheritance and his malediction. Fatima handed to him the 
flagon ; he drained it at a draught, and almost instantly expired. 
He was about sixty years old at the time of his death, and had 
reigned about twenty years. Abulfeda gives him a character 
for learning, courage, and foresight. He certainly showed 
ability and management in reuniting, under his sway, the dis- 
membered portions of the Moslem empire, and quelling the 
various sects that rose in arms against him. His foresight with 
regard to his family, also, was crowned with success, as four of 
his sons succeeded him, severally, in the Caliphat. 

He evinced an illiberal spirit of hostility to the memory of 
Ali, carrying it to such a degree that he would not permit the 
poet Ferazdak to celebrate in song the virtues of any of his de- 
scendants. Perhaps this may have gained for Abd'almalec 
another by-name with which some of the Arab writers have sig- 
nalised his memory, calling him the " Father of Flies;' 3 for so 
potent, say they, was his breath, that any fly which alighted on 
iiis lips died on the spot. 

CHAPTER LYIL 

Waled, the eldest son of Abd'almalec, was proclaimed Caliph 
at Damascus immediately on the death of his father, in the 
eighty-sixth year of the Hegira, and the year 70o of the 
Christian era. He was about thirty-eight years of age, and is 
described as being tall and robust, with a swarthy complexion, a 
face much pitted with the small-pox, and a broad, flat nose ; in 
other respects, which are left to our conjecture, he is said to have 
been of a good countenance. His habits were indolent and 
voluptuous, yet he was of a choleric temper, and somewhat in- 
clined to cruelty. 

During the reign of Waled the arts began to develope them- 
selves under the Moslem sway, finding a more genial home in 
the luxurious city of Damascus, than they had done in the holy 
cities of Mecca or ?rledina. Foreign conquests had brought the 



WALED. 



261 



Arabs in contact with the Greeks and the Persians. Intercourse 
with them, and residence in their cities, had gradually refined 
away the gross habits of the desert ; had awakened thirst for 
the sciences, and a relish for the elegances of cultivated life. 
Little skilled in the principles of government, accustomed in 
their native deserts to the patriarchal rule of separate tribes, 
without any extended scheme of policy, or combined system of 
union, the Arabs, suddenly masters of a vast and continually 
widening empire, had to study the art of governing in the 
political institutions of the countries they conquered. Persia, 
the best organised monarchy in Asia, held out a model by 
which they were fain to profit ; and in their system of emirs 
vested with the sway of distant and powerful provinces, but 
strictly responsible to the Caliph, we see a copy of the satraps 
or viceroys, the provincial depositaries of the power of the 
Khosrus. 

Since Moawyah had moved the seat of the Caliphat to Da- 
mascus, a change had come over the style of the Moslem court. 
It was no longer, as in the days of Omar, the conference of a 
poorly clad Arab chieftain, with his veteran warriors and grey- 
beard companions, seated on their mats in the corner of a 
mosque ; the Moslem Caliph at Damascus had now his divan, 
in imitation of the Persian monarch, and his palace began to 
assume somewhat of Oriental state and splendour. 

In nothing had the Moslem conquerors showed more igno- 
rance of affairs than in financial matters. The vast spoils 
acquired in their conquests, and the tribute and taxes imposed 
on subjugated countries, had for a time been treated like the 
chance booty caught up in predatory expeditions in the deserts. 
They were amassed in public treasuries without register or 
account, and shared and apportioned without judgment, and 
often without honesty. Hence continual frauds and pecula- 
tions; hence those charges so readily brought and readily be- 
lieved, against generals and governors in distant stations, of 
enormous frauds and embezzlements, and hence that grasping 
avarice, that avidity of spoil and treasure, which were more 
and more destroying the original singleness of purpose of the 
soldiers of Islam. 

Moawyah was the first of the Caliphs who ordered that 
registers of tribute and taxes, as well as of spoils, should be 
kept in the Islamite countries, in their respective languages: 
that is to say, in the Greek language in Syria, and in the 
Persian language in Irak. But Abd'almalee went further, and 



262 THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 

ordered that they should all be kept in Arabic. Nothing, how- 
ever, could effectually check the extortion and corruption which 
was prevailing more and more in the administration of the con- 
quered provinces. Even the rude Arab soldier, who in his 
desert would have been content with his tent of hair- cloth, 
now aspired to the possession of fertile lands, or a residence 
amid the voluptuous pleasures of the city. 

Waled had grown up amid the refinements and corruptions 
of the transplanted Caliphat. He was more of a Greek and 
Persian than an Arab in his tastes; and the very opposite of 
that primitive Moslem, Omar, in most of his habitudes. On 
assuming the sovereign power, he confirmed all the emirs or 
governors of provinces, and also the generals appointed by his 
father. On these he devolved all measures of government and 
warlike duties; for himself, he led a soft, luxurious life amidst 
the delights of his harem. Yet, though he had sixty-three 
wives, he does not appear to have left any issue. Much of his 
time was devoted to the arts, and especially the art of archi- 
tecture, in which he left some noble monuments to perpetuate 
his fame. 

He caused the principal mosque at Cairo to be demolished, 
and one erected of greater majesty, the pillars of which had 
gilded capitals. He enlarged and beautified the grand mosque 
erected on the site of the temple of Solomon, for he was 
anxious to perpetuate the pilgrimage to Jerusalem established 
by his father. He gave command that the bounds of the 
mosque at Medina should be extended, so as to include the 
tomb of the prophet, and the nine mansions of his wives. He 
furthermore ordered, that all the buildings round the Caaba at 
Mecca should be thrown down, and a magnificent quadrangular 
mosque erected, such as is to be seen at the present day. For 
this purpose, he sent a body of skilful Syrian architects from 
Damascus. 

Many of the faithful were grieved, particularly those well- 
stricken in years, the old residents of Mecca, to see the ancient 
simplicity, established by th eprophet, violated by the splendour 
of this edifice ; especially as the dwellings of numerous indi- 
viduals were demolished to furnish a vast square for the founda- 
tions of the new edifice, which now inclosed within its circuit 
the Caaba, the well of Zem Zem, and the stations of different 
sects of Moslems, which came in pilgrimage. 

All these works were carried on under the supervision of his 
emirs, but the Caliph attended in person to the erection of a 



WALED. 



263 



grand mosque in his capital of Damascus. In making arrange- 
ments for this majestic pile he cast his eyes on the superb 
church of St. John the Baptist, which had been embellished 
by the Roman emperors during successive ages, and enriched 
with the bones and relics of saints and martyrs. He offered 
the Christians forty thousand dinars of gold for this holy 
edifice ; but they replied, gold was of no value in comparison 
with the sacred bones enshrined within its walls. 

The Caliph, therefore, took possession of the church on his 
own authority, and either demolished or altered it, so as to suit 
his purpose in the construction of his mosque, and did not allow 
the Christian owners a single dirhem of compensation. He 
employed twelve thousand workmen constantly in this archi- 
tectural enterprise, and one of his greatest regrets in his last 
moments was that he should not live to see it completed. 

The architecture of these mosques was a mixture of Greek 
and Persian, and gave rise to the Saracenic style, of which 
Waled may be said to be the founder. The slender and graceful 
palm-tree may have served as a model for its columns ; as the 
clustering trees and umbrageous forests of the north are thought 
to have thrown their massive forms and shadowy glooms into 
Gothic architecture. These two kinds of architecture have 
often been confounded, but the Saracenic takes the precedence ; 
the Gothic borrowed graces and embellishments from it in the 
times of the Crusades. 

While the Caliph Waled lived indolently and voluptuously 
at Damascus, or occupied himself in erecting mosques, his 
generals extended his empire in various directions. Moslema Ibn 
Abd'almalec, one of his fourteen brothers, led an army into 
Asia Minor, invaded Cappadocia, and laid siege to Tyana, a 
strong city garrisoned with imperial troops. It was so closely 
invested that it could receive no provisions ; but the besiegers 
were equally in want of supplies. The contest was fierce on 
both sides, for both were sharpened and irritated by hunger, 
and it became a contest which could hold out longest against 
famine. 

The duration of the siege enabled the emperor to send rein- 
forcements to the place, but they were raw, undisciplined re- 
cruits, who were routed by the hungry Moslems, their camp 
captured, and their provisions greedily devoured. The defeat of 
these reinforcements rendered the defence of the city hopeless, 
and the pressure of famine hastened a capitulation, the besieged 
not being aware that the besiegers were nearly as much famished 



264 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



as themselves. Moslema is accused by Christian writers of 
having* violated the conditions of surrender ; many of the inha- 
bitants were driven forth into the deserts, and many of the re- 
mainder were taken for slaves. In a subsequent year Moslema 
made a successful incursion into Pont us and Armenia, a great 
part of which he subjugated, and took the city of Amasia after 
a severely contested siege. He afterwards made a victorious 
campaign into Galatia, ravaging the whole province, and bear- 
ing away rich spoils and numerous captives. 

While Moslema was thus bringing Asia Minor into subjec- 
tion, his son Khatiba, a youth of great bravery was no less sue- * 
cessful in extending the empire of the faith toward the East. 
Appointed to the government of Khorassan, he did not content 
himself with attending to the affairs of his own province, but 
crossing the Oxus, ravaged the provinces of Turkistan, defeated 
a great army of Turks and Tartars, by which he had been be- 
leaguered and reduced to great straits, and took the capital city 
of Bochara, with many others of inferior note. 

He defeated also Magourek, the Khan of Charism, and drove 
him to take refuge in the great city of Samarcand. This city, 
anciently called Marcanda, was one of the chief marts of Asia, 
as well for the wares imported from China and Tangut across 
the desert of Cobi, as of those brought through the mountains 
of the great Thibet, and those conveyed from India to the 
Caspian Sea. It was, therefore, a great resort and resting-place 
for caravans from all quarters. The surrounding country was 
renowned throughout the East for fertility, and ranked among 
the paradises, or gardens, of Asia. 

To this city Khatiba laid siege, but the inhabitants set him at 
defiance, being confident of the strength of their walls, and 
aware that the Arabs had no battering-rams, nor other engines 
necessary for the attack of fortified places. A long and close 
siege, however, reduced the garrison to great extremity, and 
finding that the besiegers were preparing to carry the place by 
storm, they capitulated, agreeing to pay an annual tribute of 
one thousand dinars of gold and three thousand slaves. 

Khatiba erected a magnificent mosque in that metropolis, 
and officiated personally in expounding the doctrines of Islam, 
which began soon to supersede the religion of the Magians, or 
Ghebers. 

Extensive victories were likewise achieved in India during 
the reign of Waled, by Mohamed Ibn Casern, a native of Thayef, 
one of his generals, who conquered the kingdom of Sindia, or 



WALED. 



265 



Sinde, killed its sovereign in battle, and sent his head to the 
Caliph ; overran a great part of Central India, and first planted 
the standard of Islam on the banks of the Ganges, the sacred 
river of the Hindoos. 

CHAPTER LVIII. 
To return to affairs in Africa. During the first years of the 
Caliph at of Waled, the naval armaments, fitted out by Musa in 
the ports of Eastern Africa, continued to scour the Mediterra- 
nean, and carry terror and devastation into its islands. One of 
them coasted the island of Sicily in the eighty-sixth year of 
the Hegira, and attacked the city of Syracuse; but the object 
appears to have been mere plunder, not to retain possession. 
Another ravaged the island of Sardinia, sacked its cities, and 
brought off a vast number of prisoners and immense booty. 
Among the captives were Christian women of great beauty, 
and highly prized in the Eastern harems. The command of 
the sea was ultimately given by Musa to his son Abdolola, who 
added to his nautical reputation by a descent upon the island of 
Mallorca. 

While Abdolola was rejoicing his father's heart by exploits 
and triumphs on the sea, Abd'alaziz contributed no less to his 
pride and exultation by his achievements on land. Aided by 
this favourite son, Musa carried the terror of the Moslem arms 
to the western extremity of Mount Atlas, subduing Fez, Du- 
quella, Morocco, and Sus. The valiant tribes of the Zenetes 
at length made peace, and entered into compact with him ; from 
other tribes Musa took hostages ; and by degrees the sway of 
the Caliph was established throughout western Almagreb to 
Cape Non on the Atlantic. 

Musa was not a ferocious conqueror. The countries sub- 
jected by his arms became objects of his paternal care. He 
introduced law and order ; instructed the natives in the doc- 
trines of Islam, and defended the peaceful cultivators of the 
fields and residents in the cities against the incursions of pre- 
datory tribes. In return, they requited his protection by con- 
tributing their fruits and flocks to the support of the armies, 
and furnishing steeds matchless for speed and beauty. 

One region, however, yet remained to be subjugated before 
the conquest of Northern Africa would be complete ; the an- 
cient Tingis, or Tingitania, the northern extremity of Almag- 
reb. Here the continent of Africa protruded boldly to meet 

T 



266 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



the continent of Europe ; a narrow strait intervened ; the strait 
of Hercules, the gate of the Mediterranean Sea. Two rocky 
promontories appeared to guard it on each side — the far-famed 
pillars of Hercules. Two rock-built cities, Ceuta and Tangiers, 
on the African coast, were the keys of this gate, and controlled 
the neighbouring seaboard. These had been held in ancient 
times by the Berber kings, who made this region their strong- 
hold, and Tangiers their seat of power ; but the keys had been 
wrested from their hands at widely -separated periods; first by 
the Vandals and afterwards by the Goths, the conquerors of 
the opposite country of Spain ; and the Gothic Spaniards had 
now held military possession for several generations. 

Musa seems to have reserved this province for his last Afri- 
can campaign. He stationed his son Merwan, with ten thou- 
sand men, in a fortified camp on the frontier, while Taric Ibn 
Zeyad, a veteran general scarred in many a battle, scoured the 
country from the fountains or head waters of the river Moluya, 
to the mountains of Aldaran. The province was bravely de- 
fended by a Gothic noble, Count Julian by name; but he was 
gradually driven to shut himself up in Ceuta. Meantime 
Tangiers yielded to the Moslem arms after an obstinate de- 
fence, and was strongly garrisoned by Arab and Egyptian 
troops, and the command given to Taric. An attempt was 
made to convert the Christian inhabitants to the faith of Islam; 
the Berber part easily conformed, but the Gothic persisted in 
unbelief, and rather than give up their religion abandoned 
their abodes, and crossed over to Andaluz with the loss of all 
their property. 

Musa now advanced upon Ceuta, into which Count Julian 
had drawn all his troops. He attempted to carry it by storm, 
but was gallantly repulsed, with the loss of many of his best 
troops. Repeated assaults were made with no better success ; 
the city was situated on a promontory, and strongly fortified. 
Musa now laid waste the surrounding country, thinking to 
reduce the place by famine, but the proximity of Spain enabled 
the garrison to receive supplies and reinforcements across the 
straits. 

Months were expended in this protracted and unavailing 
siege. According to some accounts Musa retired personally 
from the attempt, and returned to his seat of government at 
Caerwan, leaving the army and province in charge of his son 
Merwan, and Taric iu command of Tangiers. 



WALED. 



267 



And now occurred one of the most memorable pieces of 
treason in history. Count Julian, who had so nobly defended 
his post, and checked the hitherto irresistible arms of Islam, 
all at once made secret offers, not merely to deliver up Ceuta 
to the Moslem commander, but to betray Andaluz itself into 
his hands. The country he represented as rife for a revolt 
against Roderick the Gothic king, who was considered an 
usurper ; and he offered to accompany and aid the Moslems in 
a descent upon the coast, where he had numerous friends ready 
to flock to his standard. 

Of the private wrongs received by Count Julian from his 
sovereign, which provoked him to this stupendous act of treason, 
we shall here say nothing. Musa was startled by his proposi- 
tion. He had long cast a wistful eye at the mountains of An- 
daluz, brightening beyond the strait, but hitherto the conquest 
of Northern Africa had tasked all his means. Even now he 
feared to trust too readily to a man whose very proposition 
showed an utter w r ant of faith. He determined, therefore, to 
despatch Taric Ibn Zeyad on a reconnoitring expedition, to 
coast the opposite shores, accompanied by Count Julian, and 
ascertain the truth of his representations. 

Taric accordingly embarked with a few hundred men in 
four merchant vessels, crossed the straits under the guidance 
of Count Julian, who, on landing, despatched emissaries to his 
friends and adherents, summoning them to a conference at 
Jesirah al Khadra, or the Green Island, now Algeziras. Here, 
in presence of Taric, they confirmed all that Julian had said 
of the rebellious disposition of the country, and of their own 
readiness to join the standard of an invader. A plundering 
cruise along the coast convinced Taric of the wealth of the 
country, and he returned to the African shores with ample 
spoils and female captives of great beauty. 

A new career of conquest seemed thus opening upon Musa. 
His predecessor, Acbah, had spurred his steed into the waves 
of the Atlantic, and sighed that there were no further lands to 
conquer ; but here w r as another quarter of the world inviting 
the triumphs of Islam. He forthwith wrote to the Caliph, 
giving a glowing account of the country thus held out for con- 
quest ; a country abounding in noble monuments and wealthy 
cities ; rivalling Syria in the fertility of its soil and the beauty 
of its climate ; Yemen, or Arabia the Happy, in its tempera- 
ture ; India in its flowers and spices ; Hegiaz in its fruits and 
productions ; Cathay in its precious and abundant mines ; Aden.. 



268 



THE SUCCESSORS OF MAHOMET. 



in the excellence of its ports and harbours. " With the aid of 
God," added he, "I have reduced to obedience the Zenetes and 
the other Berber tribes of Zab andDerar, Zaara, Mazamuda, 
and Sus : the standard of Islam floats triumphant on the walls 
of Tangiers ; thence to the opposite coast of Andaluz is but a 
space of twelve miles. Let but the Commander of the Faithful 
give the word, and the conquerors of Africa will cross into that 
land, there to carry the knowledge of the true God and the law 
of the Koran." 

The Arab spirit of the Caliph was roused by this magnificent 
prospect of new conquests. He called to mind a tradition that 
Mahomet had promised the extension of his law to the utter- 
most regions of the West ; and he now gave full authority to 
Musa to proceed in his pious enterprise, and carry the sword of 
Islam into the benighted land of Andaluz. 

We have thus accomplished our self-allotted task. We have 
set forth, in simple and succinct narrative, a certain portion of 
this wonderful career of fanatical conquest. We have traced 
the progress of the little cloud which rose out of the deserts of 
Arabia, " no bigger than a man's hand/' until it had spread 
out and overshadowed the ancient quarters of the world and all 
their faded glories. We have shown the handful of proselytes 
of a pseudo prophet, driven from city to city, lurking in dens 
and caves of the earth ; but at length rising to be leaders of 
armies and mighty conquerors ; overcoming in pitched battle 
the Roman cohort, the Grecian phalanx, and the gorgeous hosts 
of Persia ; carrying their victories from the gates of the Cau- 
casus, to the western descents of Mount Atlas ; from the banks 
of the Ganges to the Sus, the ultimate river in Mauritania ; 
and now planting their standard on the pillars of Hercules, and 
threatening Europe with like subjugation. 

Here, however, we stay our hand. Here we lay down our 
pen. Whether it will ever be our lot to resume the theme, 
to cross with the Moslem hosts the strait of Hercules, and nar- 
rate their memorable conquest of Gothic Spain, is one of those 
uncertainties of mortal life and aspirations of literary zeal, 
which beguile us with agreeable dreams, but too often end in 
disappointment. 



THE END 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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